STAND, EARN AND LEARN

My name is Luxmi. In 2011, we moved to Manikapuram village from India for a new beginning. With two children in school, my husband’s neurological illness makes regular work impossible. Some days he manages as a wage-earner, barely enough for food. I juggle household duties and odd jobs to make ends meet. It’s a constant battle to survive, and we’re grateful for any help we receive.

My name is Sunthari, and my husband and I are facing many challenges. Our two children are married and no longer support us. My husband suffers from a kidney problem and needs to visit Killinochi Hospital three times a month, but we can’t afford the transportation or medical costs. I sell appam to provide food, but the income is insufficient. If we could receive help with agriculture, it would make a significant difference and help us sustain our livelihood.

My husband fell while working on a construction site and hasn’t been able to work properly ever since that injury. We don’t have a toilet, water is scarce and I am trying with the labour work we get to feed the family and educate my children. It is not enough, there is a wall between where we are and where we need to get to and we don’t know how to climb this wall.

I look after my mother, but she and I both have epilepsy. It is hard to earn enough for both of our medical requirements and because of this, our health suffers. I have to also look after my son and ensure he is fed – right now I do that by selling some of the coconuts from our trees, but that is not enough to always have ends meet.

My husband had a bad head injury during the war and ever since is unable to stand for long periods and work. We have no toilet and no water access so we are unable to cultivate our land. We want to work but there are many challenges for us and with our children, my youngest only 5, we have a long way ahead of us.

My husband has epilepsy and because of our situation we can’t afford to treat it properly. My youngest of two children is in preschool and she has recurring infections that means I also need to find money for her health needs. We don’t have a permanent house, well or toilet. Each day we must think about food and how we are all going to survive.

My husband committed suicide over 12 years ago and since then, life has been very difficult. I have raised my two children and tried to find enough work to put food on the table. We live in a temporary house, we do not have access to water and for years we have lived day to day, eating when we can.

I have four children so I have to stay home to look after them. My husband gets seasonal labour work but it is increasingly irregular which means that with his income there is never enough to feed all the children, and we can barely buy them the books they need for their schooling.

My husband used to climb coconut trees but one day he fell, landed in a well and badly injured himself. He is no longer able to work and so I do labour work when I can. It is hard to get regular work and with the money I earn I am unable to meet the educational needs for my children. All I want is to ensure my kids can go to school and have a better life.

I am a cook at the local preschool and earn a small wage from that but I have four children to feed and educate. My husband has kidney failure and is unable to labour, and my income is unable to cover his health expenses so his health continues to decline. Each day I do my best, but right now my best is not putting enough food on the table.

My husband was badly injured during the war which means it is difficult for him to work. We don’t have access to water which makes the daily activities time consuming. I have to manage my husbands health, my three children, and earn enough income to manage everything – which I fail to do.

My husband has a bad heart condition, it means he is unable to work. My mental health has suffered significantly over the years and I have to go to the psychiatric clinic each month to take medicines. It is hard to afford the basics for our family. I have to provide a better life for my child but I have no idea how to do this.

My husband left two years ago so now. It is just me and my daughter. I do not have a way to earn an income so I am surviving on $A25 a month that the government provides. It means that I cannot fully feed my child and educate her. Right now I just don’t have a path forward.

My husband died from cancer and I am now raising my 4 children alone. It is hard because I have to care for them and put food on the table, but I cannot travel far for work. I have lot of experience in growing crops but I never have the money each season for seeds, and because of this I find myself each year in the same cycle.

My name is Sutharshini. I am so blessed to have two healthy kids. Each day there is a struggle to know how to meet their needs – with no safe shelter, well or toilet there are challenges, but we can’t think about that. Right now we just think about our meals.

I have four children, my husband was badly injured at work and this now means that I must find a way forward – for his health costs, looking after my children, and putting food on the table. I am also unable to educate my children properly – I want them to have a better life but I don’t know how I can give them that.

My husband and I have dealt with a lot of trauma and because of that, and all the pressures we have had because of our poverty, our minds have gone a lot and we need to take medicine to keep going most days. I have 2 children and my mother that we all have to look after. We don’t have water access and it is difficult to get regular waged work so at the moment we have little path forward to meet our basic food needs.