Real-World English Language Program, Sri Lanka

Two Months In: What 35 Students Taught Us About Access

Program update — Real-World English Language Program, Sri Lanka

Our Real-World English Language Program has been running for two months now, with 35 students working directly with a local volunteer teacher — a native English speaker teaching in their own community.

What's become clear in these first two months isn't just about English. It's about access.

For many of these students, the barrier was never a lack of interest or ability. It was logistics: a family with limited income has to choose between paying bus fare to reach a tutor, or paying for the tutor itself — and in many of the communities we work in, there was no local tutor to reach at all. Fluent English instruction simply wasn't reachable, at any price, for students who didn't happen to live near it.

That's the gap this program exists to close: putting a native-speaking teacher directly in the community, so distance and cost stop being the deciding factor in whether a student gets to learn.

Two months in, 35 students are getting consistent, real instruction from someone who speaks the language natively — something that, for most of them, simply wasn't available before this program started.

This is our one active program right now, and it's running because of direct, unrestricted support. If you'd like to help us reach more students like these 35, visit our Donations page or learn more about our programs.