Picture 135 smiling faces overjoyed and elated at receiving a bag full of new books, stationery items, a new water bottle and a handy school back pack! Watching the faces of these children who are beaming from ear to ear at receiving all they need for the new school term, the happy parents who silently smile appreciatively are grateful and thankful for taking a huge burden off their shoulders, the appreciative look of the teachers and principle who now knows that these kids will continue to come to school as they have no reason not to be in school armed with their new school term booklist in their hands. How does one put words to a simple deed of “giving is not just about making a donation, it’s about making a difference” this is what all our colleagues of Aitken Spence Travels did this Christmas. We brought joy to 135 students of  N/HK/ Loolecondera Vidyalaya, Loolecondera located in Deltota.

The story of the 135 students from Loolecondera is not as rich as the Golden Brew that Sri Lanka is famed for when Tea was introduced by Mr. James Taylor a Scotsman in 1852 to then British Ceylon. Mr. Taylors first commercial tea plantation is in Loolecondera. Recently when a team of Aitken Spence Travels team members visited the James Taylor’s tea plantation to introduce a new tea excursion, they came across N/HK/ Loolecondera Vidyalaya, Loolecondera located in Deltota.  This is a school that has classes only for the primary grades from grades 1-5. The Principal of Loolecondera Vidyalaya made a humble request to assist the school children with their booklists for the new school year of 2020 as majority of these children’s parents work in the plantation and a book list is usually a burden for these daily wage earners. The team from Aitken Spence Travels sprung into action as soon as they were told about this request. Many staff dig deep into their pockets as well as a few well-wishers. Within a couple of days the required amount of money was collected and even had a few rupees extra to invest for kids drinking water development project. The deed of “giving is not just about making a donation, it’s about making a difference” was lived through when our team saw the smiling faces of all the 135 children. This is the way our team started the season bringing solace to parents of 135 children. The deed took the burden off and prevented some kids dropping out of school if they didn’t get their booklist sorted!