3 minute read
Christmas appeal 2021
from USPG Koinonia Issue 7 4/2021
by USPG
Plantation workers on a Sri Lankan tea estate
APPEAL 2021
One of Sri Lanka’s main products is tea and it plays a major role in the economy of the country.
Despite this many of the people who live and work in the country’s numerous tea plantations have endured years of marginalization and exclusion from the rest of Sri Lankan society. This isolation has led to poor living conditions for families, limited medical care and a lack of education for children. Plantation workers and their families living on the tea estates have significantly poorer living standards than the average worker in Sri Lanka. Estates rarely have proper schools or clinics. Families are also unlikely to have basic facilities such as drinking water, sanitation and electricity in their homes. Our Church partner, The Church of Ceylon, Diocese of Colombo, has set up development and advocacy programmes to improve the well-being of people living in the tea plantation communities.
THE SIVANESHWARY FAMILY
Mrs Vishwanathan Sivaneshwary and her family live in a former cowshed on Farm Estate, a private plantation located in the hill country, in the central province of Sri Lanka. Mrs Sivaneshwary’s husband lost his job due to the Covid-19 pandemic and now her salary from tea picking provides for the whole family.
Plantation workers are often paid very poorly and given strict targets, their basic pay is halved if they don’t pick the target weight of tea per day. Mrs Sivaneshwary is paid an average salary of 12,500 LKR (£45) per month to support her whole family. She says "Our expenses always exceed our income therefore we cannot save any money for our children's future" The unstable financial situation of many estate workers has pushed them towards indebtedness which is common in plantation communities. Due to the poor living conditions on the plantation there is only one toilet available for every five houses on the estate. Mrs Sivaneshwary’s 12 year old daughter Mishanthini has to wake up at 5am to use the facilities before the plantation workers get ready to start their day. Lack of toilets and running water is a problem for women and young girls who need to wake up early in the morning to bathe, exposing them to various threats, including unwanted sexual harassment. Plantation workers are scared to complain or discuss their needs with the management. They are fearful that if they do so, the supervisors will ask them to leave the estate and they will lose their homes and livelihoods. The Church of Ceylon, Diocese of Colombo’s Plantation Community Development programme aims to fight this discrimination and injustice by providing education, healthcare and advocacy for families living and working on the tea estates. The programme provides education to children, including preschools, non-formal education classes, seminars and scholarships for government exams as well as for A Level and University students. The programme also offers medical support to pregnant mothers and advocates for human rights of the tea plantation community including improved living conditions. Throughout Advent and Christmas 2021 we will be standing in solidarity with our partner, The Church of Ceylon, Diocese of Colombo. Their vital work with women and children from the tea plantation communities is transforming lives and lifting people out of poverty.
APPEAL 2021
Throughout Advent and Christmas 2021 we will be standing in solidarity with our partner church in Sri Lanka, the Diocese of Colombo, of the Church of Ceylon.
Their vital work with women and children from marginalised and isolated tea plantation communities is transforming lives and lifting people out of poverty. The Plantation Community Development programme of the Diocese of Colombo provides education to children, support to pregnant mothers and advocates for human rights of people living and working on the tea plantations.
