SUPPORTING TEA ESTATE WORKERS
Despite Ceylon Tea being world renowned, the Tea Estate worker community, the vast majority of whom are women remains one of the most socially, politically and economically deprived and outcast in Sri Lanka. Structural discrimination and historical marginalisation arising from their previous statelessness status maintains distancing from the state and dependency on and exploitation by their employers, the plantation companies. Consequently this population is profoundly affected by poverty, hunger, poor health, lack of access to education and gender inequality; all factors which have been further devastated by the current economic crisis in Sri Lanka, resulting in increasing hunger and destitution
Women's Empowerment Sri Lanka are working with the All Ceylon Estate Workers Union (ACEWU) in the Hatton area of the Nuwara Eliya District where 45% of the island’s tea estates are located; who represent tea estate workers at grass roots levels, through raising their concerns, maintaining pressure for better pay and working terms and conditions in the first instance. Their female representatives maintain close ties with female plantation workers to help identify and address the real needs of this voiceless and most oppressed group.
With your support through popular fundraisers such as our Village Rice Deliveries, Women's Empowerment Sri Lanka have donated £500 towards dry food rations to the most adversely affected families. This £500 donation went towards providing 50 packs of dry rations consisting of 5kg rice, 4kg plain flour, 1kg lentils, 1kg sugar, 500g soya protein and 500g dried fish. Please see the video above for photos from this donation.
Given the dire circumstances currently in Sri Lanka, we are currently fundraising to support ACEWU to provide further packs of dry rations to tea estate workers. If you wish to support the cause, please donate whatever you can, by clicking on the button above.
Thank you for your support.