• NCPA-PHDT collaborate for estate sector child protection projs. across 12 Districts

The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) has announced its collaboration with the Plantation Human Development Trust (PHDT) organisation for the continuation of child protection projects in the estate sector throughout the course of this year (2026), detailing a series of targeted interventions currently being implemented across 12 Districts.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (12) on the condition of anonymity, an NCPA official said the Authority is working on both short-term and long-term goals for the well-being of estate students, while simultaneously seeking to identify instances of abuse, reduce such incidents, and take legal action against the perpetrators. 

She detailed the NCPA is executing programmes in 12 Districts for children living in estate communities. These Districts include Ratnapura, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya, Monaragala and Kurunegala and the selection of the said Districts is based on the rate of cases that are being reported regarding child safety. According to the said official, these initiatives are conducted in stages. 

The process begins with the selection of a small group comprising community leaders, Government officials, and estate heads to collect data. This group then identifies the most prominent issues from among those flagged and determines the strategies to address them. “It is with this priority list that the rest of the programme flows,” the official said. 

“In some estates, teen pregnancy is the prominent issue; in other estates, it is child labour. The programme differentiates according to the major issue identified,” she added. Following the implementation of remedial actions, NCPA officials conduct monitoring exercises to assess the situation both before and after solutions have been introduced.

In addition to these measures, the official said that special programmes are conducted for students with learning difficulties, programmes targeting children with reproductive health issues, and initiatives focused on establishing labour rights. The official further noted that programmes are specifically designed to inculcate among estate children the understanding that they have the opportunity to step outside estate labour through education.