The Hope Initiative · 1% of every booking
Travel that leaves Sri Lanka better than it found it.
1% of every Ceylon Experience booking funds The Hope: career and leadership days for students in rural schools.
Where it began
It started with friends pooling their own money
The Hope began in December 2021, when a group of friends started putting in their own money to help families nearby.
Udana and Ravindu, who went on to found Ceylon Experience, were part of it from the very first project. Eighteen projects later, it has grown from food parcels to full career days in rural schools.
Today 1% of every booking you make with us goes to The Hope, alongside members' own donations and support from corporate partners.
Flagship programme · See It to Be It!
If you can see it, you can be it.
Most students in rural schools can name a handful of jobs: the ones they see around them. In one day, our volunteers show them dozens more, and every student goes home with a guide to getting there.
“I didn't know there were this many career paths! I now want to become a network engineer.”
Grade 11 student, Kumarigama Maha Vidyalaya, Ampara
A career day, hour by hour
- Welcome, and why choosing a career matters
- Students split into teams
- Session 1: working through the career guide
- Team-building and problem-solving games
- Lunch for students, parents and teachers
- Talent showcase
- Session 2: using technology to learn, and skills for the future
- Games just for fun
- Closing talks and a gift of stationery
The career guide
“See it, then chase your goal.”
Students take home their own printed guide, written in Sinhala: Dakinna, aramuna hambayanna. It covers 13 career fields and 30 careers.
Each career explains
- What the job involves, in plain words
- Who it suits: the things you might already love doing
- How to get there, step by step from O/Ls and A/Ls
- Where people in that job work
- One small thing to try today
The 13 fields
- Engineering and technology
- Transport
- Finance and law
- Healthcare and medicine
- Information technology
- Education
- Arts, media and entertainment
- Science and research
- Construction and skilled trades
- Sport, leisure and tourism
- Sales and marketing
- Security and emergency services
- Administration and management
The 30 careers
Designer · Engineer · Software engineer · Accountant · Banker · Chef · Lawyer · Architect · Teacher · Doctor · Musician · Photographer · Videographer · Pilot · Scientist · Journalist · Entrepreneur · Actor · Sales manager · Presenter · HR manager · Travel agent · Project manager · Marketing manager · Technician · Mechanic · Logistics manager · Real estate agent · Financial analyst · Ship's captain
- Try this todayEngineer
Build a bridge out of paper, or a little car that runs on a rubber band. Small things that work are where engineering starts.
- Try this todaySoftware engineer
Write down every step of making a cup of tea. Thinking in clear, ordered steps is the foundation of writing code.
- Try this todayDesigner
Make a birthday card, or draw a poster for a school event. Every design starts as an idea on paper.
- Try this todayTravel agent
Choose a place you'd love to visit and plan the whole trip. Organising journeys is the heart of the job.
Where we've run it
Four schools, four days
- St John Bosco's College, HanwellaSee It to Be It! (II)
A career and leadership day for Grade 9 students.
- A secondary school in AvissawellaSee It to Be It!
Career sessions, team games and a talent showcase for secondary students.
- Kumarigama Maha Vidyalaya, AmparaSee It to Be It!
45+ students took part. Every one went home with a printed career guide.
- Abhayapura Maha Vidyalaya, Paragahakele, AmparaBridging the Boundaries
A leadership day for about 55 students, with a stationery set for each and lunch for everyone.
Run with our corporate partner, Firehouse Technologies, who co-fund the days as part of their CSR programme.
2021 – 2023
Before the career days
In its first two years, members raised Rs. 300,000+ across 14 projects.
- Families in hardship
Food and essentials for families that teachers and village officers pointed us to.
- Medical help
Contributions towards surgery and cancer treatment for children and young people.
- Rural schools
Books and stationery for Suhadagama Vidyalaya in Horowpathana, and books for a village school library.
- Community
Food in the 2022 fuel queues, a temple pilgrimage for an elders' home, and dinner for students visiting from Jaffna.
How it works
From your booking to a classroom
- 01You travel with us
1% of every Ceylon Experience booking goes to The Hope.
- 02A school tells us what it needs
Through principals, teachers and village officers, then a visit from us.
- 03We plan and budget it
Every project has a written budget. 5% of donations is kept in reserve for the next one.
- 04Volunteers deliver it
Our team travels to the school and runs the day in person.
- 05We report back
A full budget and photos go to everyone who gave, including our corporate partners.
Get involved
Three ways to help
1% of every booking you make with us goes to The Hope.
Run your CSR through The Hope. We plan the day, deliver it and report back with a full budget.
Photos and updates from every school day.
Travel that gives back
1% of every booking goes to The Hope.