Manimegala

Manimegala is one of four children. Her mother, the only adult working, currently supports her family financially.

As the eldest daughter with three younger siblings and a working mother, Manimegala has had most of the domestic responsibilities of the house. She has cows at home, so some days before coming to school she had to cut grass in the morning.

Before starting at Tea Leaf Vision, she had little English knowledge and was incredibly worried she would fail. She was also anxious about the travel, as it would take her 4 hours to get to the centre and back again every day.

Manimegala admitted she was tired most days but, determined to make the most of the opportunities given to her by Tea Leaf Vision, worked hard from the moment she first stepped in to the centre. Each time she fell down the teachers helped her to stand up. As she grew, they continued to encourage her, which gave her the confidence to continue. As a result, her learning accelerated.

She had obstacles to her attendance when studying for the main diploma – heavy rains meant her staying home from class because she had to tend to her cows. She made sure that every class she missed she made up for. Her Main Diploma year was tough for her but she worked incredibly hard and achieved a place on the Advanced Diploma Programme at Tea Leaf Vision. Her mother understood the importance of the education given at Tea Leaf Vision, so allowed her to put her studies first. This year, with her continued hard work, she was one of the best interns in her class, performing exceptionally well. She did so well that she has been offered a Teaching Assistant role at the centre.

She believes that she is lucky, because she got a chance to improve herself and help her family. She says her Main Diploma year was the best year of her life and is looking forward to making it the best year of the lives of future students.

“The world knows everybody needs a stage to prove themselves. My stage was Tea Leaf Vision”