“We don’t want great comforts; just a house and living without debt is enough.” Sivarani lives in Eastern Sri Lanka with her two children and husband. She works in town a few days a week while her husband does daily wage work when he can. They grow crops and keep chickens to help with a little extra income. She wants a simple house and for her children to study well, and have steady jobs.

"I have suffered all my life, and even after I got married, it's been difficult. Because he drinks, it's always difficult." Kayalini lives with her husband and two young children. Work is irregular, food is sometimes short, and their house leaks when it rains. She manages debts, takes care of the children, and hopes to build a safe home and give them a chance at school and good jobs.

"I’m paying for everything, taking loans, begging here and there, and still can’t meet all needs." Vijayasundari, 77, lives in Sri Lanka’s East with her daughter and husband. Her husband is too old to work so she works the land, grinds paddy and manages debts. They lost most of their assets over the years, but she keeps going so her daughter can finish college and have a better future.

“My parents committed suicide when I was a teenager and I had to get married 8 days later because we didn’t have money for me to stay home or finish school.” Sasitha, cares for her daughters and grandmother while her husband works far away. She stretches their income, buys food on credit and keeps the children in school. Her dream is to feed her family without borrowing and give her kids a steady future.

 “Even in my childhood, when my father was sick, we struggled for everything, even to eat.” Ajantha lives with her husband and 7-month-old son in the East of Sri Lanka. Her husband does daily labor, but work stops during the rains. Ajantha stays home to look after the baby. They are saving to build a safe house and want to give their son a good education to support his future.

“We live in a leaf thatched hut, but if we had tin sheets over it, it wouldn't leak in the rain or blow away when it’s windy.” Vaani lives with her husband and 4 year-old. Her husband works when he can, but his heart problem limits him. She can’t work now because she’s pregnant. They try to eat 2 meals. She hopes her son studies well and gets a steady job while they build a safe home.

 “An elephant attacked our home. It destroyed the kitchen and damaged the house. The roof leaks when it rains. It’s difficult to keep a toddler safe." Tharsika lives with her husband and little daughter. They earn just enough for food, sometimes buying on credit. They are repairing the house slowly and hope their daughter can study well and have a safe home and a future she chooses.

“My child was in hospital and my husband didn’t have work. It was very difficult for us.” Thanushiya lives with her husband, mother and young child. Her husband’s daily wage work is not steady, so some days there is no income. They borrow, take food on credit to repay when money comes. Even small needs are hard. Still, she keeps her child in school and manages the home with care.

“My husband left us after the baby was born and I had to keep her in this shed without a fan or electricity." Niranjini, 27, lives with her two daughters in a small shed. Her husband left them, and her mother helps with food. She plans to start work soon, manages debts and dreams of building a simple two-room home while making sure her children go to school and learn like other kids.

“There were days when we’ll be lying down in hunger, without food, and nobody was there to see if we were dead or alive” Indumathi lives in Kadpanikulam with her son, 19, and daughter, 17. Her husband left when her daughter was a baby. She works daily to buy food, raises a few goats, and keeps her children in school, helping them finish courses, find jobs and build a better future.

“Some days we don’t even have enough to eat.” Amutha, 44, lives with her husband, daughter and mother in Sri Lanka’s East. Her husband’s daily wage is not enough, so they buy food on credit to repay when they can. Debt keeps growing. She missed school but pushes her child in Grade 8 to continue. They live in a small house without electricity and hope for a steady life without debt.

Sukenthini and her husband can’t speak, so they can’t always find work to pay for food. Sukenthini, 29, lives with her husband and two young children. Both parents can’t speak. She cares for the kids, cooks, and helps her husband find daily work. They manage with little money and sometimes eat just rice. She wants both children to study and have better opportunities.

"After my husband died, I was left with four children and no way to feed them” Vimaleswari, 69, has been raising her great-grandchild since her son’s wife died when the child was six months old. She worked grinding flour, threshing grain, and doing wage work to feed her family. Now her great-grandchild works and helps with groceries. Vimaleswari hopes to see her granddaughter get married and have her own home.

At one point, both parents couldn’t go out to find work. There were a lot of days then when they didn’t even have enough to feed their daughter. Kanchana cannot speak and cares for her home with her husband, who cuts firewood despite swollen legs, and looks after their 13-year-old daughter. They manage food, school costs, and credit carefully, working hard every day to make sure their daughter can finish school and have a better future.

“I haven’t had enough to eat since I was a child. Now I have to watch my children go through the same.” Rajeshwari lives with her husband and 3 children. Her husband goes fishing. But some days he brings nothing home. She makes sure the children go to school and works with what she has to take care of them. She believes education can give them a chance for steady work and regular income.

"We have no toilet so there’s no choice. If there’s a need, we dig a hole in the ground.” Kanmani lives in a small home in Sri Lanka’s East with her husband and 16-year-old son. Her husband does daily wage work, but income is irregular. They borrow or take loans to cover food, bills, and school. They dig a hole to use as a toilet. They keep working so their son can go to school.  

“Once when sewage water came into house during the rains, everyone got fever, even the baby got very sick.” Sumirtha lives in a village in Sri Lanka’s East with her husband and four children. Her husband works irregularly as a fisherman. She cares for the children, manages loans, and keeps the family fed. She hopes to start a small business, keep her children in school, and build a safe home for them.  

"There are times when we only had one measure of gruel." Rajeshwary, 59, lives in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka with her husband who is very old. Neither of them works, and their sons send a little money each month. Some days they eat only rice without curry, because sometimes there is not enough for oil, vegetables, or medicine. Rajeshwary manages the house and daily needs, living day to day.

 “I started working at fifteen years old, I’m 35 now and I’ve never been able to stop.” Jeyalini, 35, lives with her husband and 3-year-old daughter. They depend on daily wage work, but income is not steady. Some days they can’t cook, and their child eats at her sister’s home. She still works to repay family debt and hopes to start a small business while supporting her daughter’s dream to study.

"When I was very young, my father broke his leg. My mother was dead. And I had to take care of him and my three sisters all by myself.”  Rajini lives in Batticaloa with her husband and two children. Her husband’s work is irregular and he is sick now. Rajini sells vadai in the evenings, manages the house, and makes sure the children go to school and tuition even if that means her skipping meals. She works very hard every day so her children can have a better future.

“I’ve known hunger from childhood and I still carry it with me.” Nirojini lives in Navatkadu in Eastern Sri Lanka with her husband and three children. Their small home has no toilet. Her husband does whatever work he can find, sometimes fishing, sometimes cutting stones. But money is never enough for food, bills, and school. Nirojini works hard and walks long distances to keep her children educated so that they have a better future.

"After my husband's leg injury, it is hard for him to stand or walk for long hours during work." Ravitha, 27, lives with her youngest child while her husband works away. He earns little, and Ravitha does small jobs to cover food and clothes. They sometimes borrow to make ends meet. Their home has cracks, and daily life is a struggle, but she keeps her child fed, in school, and cared for.

"We are stuck paying off debt, so we can’t even think about a good future." Sureshini, 34, lives in Batticaloa with her husband, two daughters aged seven and three, and her father. Her husband works whenever he can, but some days they have no food and borrow from relatives. They pay 20,000 rupees every month for a loan. Sureshini works hard and hopes to fix their house and educate her daughters.

“I just want my daughter to be healthy and go to school like other children.” Kuventhini and her husband live in a small hut with their 15-year-old daughter. Her husband does labor work when he can, and most days they struggle for food. Their daughter has stomach pain and migraines, and they cannot afford private treatment. Kuventhini is slowly repairing their home and making sure her daughter can keep going to school.

“Our house is broken, and we are just managing with what we have.” Kajawathani, 22, lives with her husband and 3-year-old daughter. Her husband does any work he can find, and she is trying to find a job too. Their house needs repairs, and money is tight, but she saves carefully, plans ahead, and hopes to study more, work steadily, and slowly fix their home.

“We don’t have a toilet at home, so the children go to a nearby house when they need one.” Suhanya and her husband are raising three children, 14, 12 and 7. Her husband takes any daily wage work he can find and often travels to Colombo, but the income is not steady. Food and school costs are hard to manage. Suhanya keeps encouraging the children to study so they can one day find stable jobs.

“I had to stop studying when I was in the ninth grade because my family had no money.” Lingajothi is 31, living with her husband and their two-year-old son. Her husband’s daily wage work is uncertain, and when there’s no work, there’s no income. They often rely on credit just to eat. Their home is unfinished with no toilet. She raises chickens to help with money, while hoping her son can stay in school and have a better future.

“He used to come home drunk and beat me, so I took the kids and left. Now I raise them alone by myself.” Chandra is a 47-year-old single mother raising her youngest daughter alone after leaving an abusive marriage. She works long days doing domestic labour, grinding flour, and selling food, but it’s still not enough. Some days she borrows just to feed them. She keeps going, hoping to build a home and secure a safer future for her child.

"Somedays we eat only once.” Yogamma lives in the East of Sri Lanka with her husband and 24-year-old daughter. Their house is unfinished, work is irregular, and some days they eat only once. She does wage work to provide food, repay debt, and hopes to finish the unfinished house and get her daughter married to someone who can give her a better life.

“Somedays we have one meal. We don’t eat breakfast or lunch. Those days we eat dinner.” Vijitha and her husband work hard, but income is irregular. She cares for three children while they sometimes go without meals. They manage by taking food on credit and selling rice. Vijitha dreams of good jobs for her children so they won’t struggle like she does now.