We all love a nice, warm cup of tea, don't we? But how much do we really know about the lives of those who pick our tea?
Elise, Bea and I are doing a sponsored tea pick to find out (we are also helping out for 2 weeks in the school).

We will pick tea alongside professional tea pickers for four hours... it is backbreaking labour in the sunshine and worse when it is rainy season. We will then weigh my tea and get told what salary we would have earned (less than a couple of quid) but our wages will be given to our tea picking mentor. We would love you support. So, here's some things that we didn't know until we signed up to volunteer:

80% of students at the charity's Tea Leaf Vision School live off less than $1 a day, 83% of female tea pickers experience regular domestic violence and 80% of the men are alcoholics. This all creates a pretty hopeless picture... but...

Tea Leaf Trust work in the heart of the tea plantations in Sri Lanka, helping young people to gain the skills required to get employment away from the harsh reality of the tea estate industry. The school offers free, full-time diplomas for students between the ages of 18 and 24. In return, and as part of the programme, the students themselves teach Basic English to over 1,800 children a week for free!

Over 80% of graduates find employment or further education/training within a year and those working earn an average of 50% than their counterparts. On top of this, these students become ethical leaders in their communities, leading real change.

We are committed to raising £300, but we have done so well we have upped it to £600, so if you are able to make a little donation, that would be much appreciated x