Many children and young people in Sri Lanka attend after school booster classes to pass exams. Asha Trust supports an After School Tuition programme that promotes equality of opportunity among a group of highly disadvantaged young people.

Lakmini, aged 16, lives in the in Athidiya. Her father earns a living as a ‘day labourer’, seeking manual work on building sites each day, sometimes unsuccessfully. Her mother has poor health and is unable to work. Lakmini has two older siblings, none of whom completed their O levels. Last year Lakmini became the first person in her family to pass O levels. She now has a job in a local internet café and the family are better able to afford the medicines her mother needs. She recently sent this email: “I want to thank Asha Trust friends for your support over the past 2 years...I have a job and I’m very happy with it.”

Saman, aged 19, lives in the polythene zone of Athidiya. He was born in Jaffna, but after his father died, his mother fled the fighting and came to Colombo with her two young sons. She supports the family by doing domestic work for affluent families and by selling a few groceries to her neighbours in Athidiya.

Saman’s mother knew that many children who pass public exams in Sri Lanka attend after school booster classes, but there was no way she could afford these extra classes. An Asha Trust community worker told her that the Trust would help fund the tuition if the family would also make a contribution, to demonstrate their commitment to the child’s success.

The workers have found that when parents make a small financial contribution, they are more likely to support their child’s learning in other ways, like ensuring that he is able to attend all the sessions and that he is encouraged to work hard. Saman’s mother was keen to accept the offer, and Saman did well in his O levels. He was supported through his A levels and has recently got a job with a pharmaceutical company. The family have begun to make some improvements to their home as a direct result of Saman’s steady income.