Estate Workers' children at award winning pre-school

The nursery school at Venture Organic Tea Garden, under the Stassen Group of Companies in Dickoya, has 30 children. The nursery named Pipena Kakulu (Blossoming Buds) came first in the island in Outstanding Child Development in an award scheme presented by the Plantation Human Development Trust (PHDT).

"There are 59 children under five years in the estate and except the newborns, every child attends either this play school or the creche next door and is well looked after" said H.G.S. Weerasinghe, proficient in Tamil and Sinhala, who has been teaching for 30 years at the school. The venture estate has four divisions and each of the divisions has its own pre-school and crŠche where the children are professionally cared for and prepared to enter the Grade one when they are ready to enter the Government schools.

"Even after the children enter government primary schools, we continue to monitor their progress" said Weerasinghe.

"This ensures that the strong foundation they receive at the pre-school continues to motivate and encourage the children to focus on their education," he said.