Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka to middle class parents, Nilesh had a happy upbringing. When he finished school his parents encouraged him to study abroad. Nilesh choose Melbourne, Australia. After completing first year, disaster struck. The family business at home ran into difficulty and his parents were no longer able to support him. Forced to choose between returning home or finding a way to support himself, Nilesh had to make a tough decision. At that point he took a gamble, rolled the dice and came up to Darwin. With part time employment secured he enrolled in Charles Darwin University and is now completing a degree in accounting. Through all of this, Nilesh always felt that there were others who were more in need of help than him. Nilesh is now head of the business students association and is an active member of the Kindness Shake initiative which sees local Darwin businesses donating food to international students in Darwin during this Covid-19 crisis. It’s a testament to the tenacity and courage of the international student community in the Territory.
