Our eighth ‘batch’ of bakery students have settled in well and have now completed the first seven weeks of their studies at the Sri Lankan bakery school, having begun the course in early March. During the second week the group were fortunate enough to attend a ‘Motivational Workshop’ day conducted by the National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA). We have high hopes that it has boosted their enthusiasm and will benefit them greatly as they proceed through the course.
A new group of eight special needs students (who suffer from a range of speech and/or hearing impediments, or Down syndrome) will begin their journey at the bakery school on 22nd May. The main focus of the course will be to provide the children with fundamental baking skills to enable them to make an independent living – mainly through self-employment.
We are also delighted to report that all students from the recently graduated seventh ‘batch’ have now commenced internships, including four ex-students who are currently working at five-star hotels.
Janeka de Silva, the director of the Sri Lankan bakery school, provided us with the following key statistics to evidence how graduating from the bakery school has impacted the ex-students’ lives:
- 60 girls have now graduated from the bakery school;
- Approximately 90% found a job after they graduated and subsequently completed an internship;
- A little over 50% were successfully reunited with their families, 14 are now married and 3 are proud mothers.
The bakery school continues to inspire us, and provide a hugely positive impact for its students both past and present, and we thank you for your continued support.