your family update
You Backed them and things began to change
Amalan Loganathan
Donor
When we first met Alakamma, she was carrying a heavy burden of grief and loneliness. She had lost her husband, and the home that once echoed with laughter now felt quiet and empty. Blindness had made life even harder, taking away her ability to work and earn a living as she once did.
She survived only with the small help her children could give. Her daughter worked hard to provide, and Alakamma cared for her little grandchild in return. Though she did this with love, deep inside she felt heartbroken that she could no longer stand on her own.
She told us she had always been someone who tried to work hard and provide for herself, but poverty and her disability had tied her hands. Every month, she visited the clinic for her diabetes treatment, adding to her worries. More than anything, she longed for a way to be independent again — to not just live on help, but to be able to give and support her family as she once did.
We’ve captured their voice so you can hear their story.
How are you now, Mother?
We are a little better off now. The chickens we raise lay eggs. We eat them. We are somehow better off than we were before. We are a little better off than we were before. We used to live in a very difficult situation before. I don’t have husband. I had a hard time raising my children. We would eat whatever we got that day. We would eat for a while, and then we would not. If someone cooked something and brought it, we would eat it. Otherwise, we would have nothing. In this way, I raised my children and grandchildren who were struggling. What shall we do? It was very difficult. I was without husband and had no income. I was in a very difficult situation. We would eat only if someone gave us something.
(Palmera established a village bank in our community to develop financial literacy—a place where we could save and access loans to reduce our debt from predatory lenders).
There are village bank in your village, aren’t there? Have you joined them?
We have joined that village bank, sister. Now it is beneficial for us. We take loans from them. We take loans and pay them back. We are very happy. We gather in one place, laugh, and talk. Everyone will come, and we will talk. We will take loans. We will repay it.
Do you think there is any difference between what you were before and what you are now?
Yes, sister. We are different now. We have chickens that lay eggs. We take them and eat them. I eat one egg each day. I am blind, so my grandchildren will bring me one egg each. They will also eat them, and I used to. We are fine now. I will sell eggs and save that money. Otherwise, I will have no money. I am in one place, and there is no other way to get other money. Even if I sell two eggs its enough, I will save it. I am fine now.
Mother, the family that helped you from abroad so that you would be fine is the Amalan Loganathan family. Do you want to tell them anything?
Sister, may the people who helped me buy the chickens be abundantly blessed. I am blind, I pray that they will always be well. May they receive great blessings. May everyone in their family, including their mother and father, be very happy and receive abundant blessings.
Please note for many beneficiaries sharing in written form is not easy. We sit with these men and women to support them to share their story and have added context so you can weave together what you have made possible.
My name is Kandasamy Alagamma. I live in the village of Kattaikadu. I lost my husband in my youth and raised my child while living below the extreme poverty line. After she grew up, got married as she wished, and had 3 children, she separated from her husband and a situation arose where they had to come back and live with me again.
However, because of the injuries she sustained during the war, it was very difficult for her to go for daily wage work, so she is now working as a housemaid in an Arab country. I am looking after her children amidst great difficulty. There too, because she is not paid her salary properly, she sends a small amount of money once every 2 or 3 months. That is not even enough for the children’s food needs.
(At the time we met Alakamma, her family was deeply affected by deep poverty and the consequences of the war. With yours and Palmera’s support, the family began to recover and rebuild their lives.)
It was during this period when I was wondering what to do, not knowing what to do, that the Palmera organisation was doing a lot of work in our village, like groundnut cultivation, cattle rearing, and forming village savings groups. During such a time, when the staff working for this organisation would come to console me, they always told me to join the village savings group. However, I was scared and it was difficult for me with the money. Because that work was also happening, I was in a state where I had no money to save, so I stayed away.
Then one day, some savings group members came to our house, held a meeting at our house, and added me to their group. They said it was okay even if I didn’t save and asked me to attend the group meetings. I also joined that group. That day in that meeting, because we discussed how to make organic fertiliser and how to make a profit from it, this was very happy and helpful for me. (I started saving then).
(Palmera established the village savings bank in her village to develop financial literacy, a place to save and revolve their savings as loans to reduce their debt from predatory lenders. Through the village bank, people come together each week to talk, to share what is going on and support each other. This is a foundation for change. Because change happens in community and that is exactly what these structures support.)
Like this, after attending a few meetings, I raised the chickens that were given as my livelihood. We made 50% money in a week and it was worthwhile. This gave me great happiness.
Then, after some time passed, with the aim of encouraging home gardening, the Palmera organisation gave us a small grant. With the aim of using that to grow the vegetables we need in our garden, they promoted this project, and because of that, a situation arose where we could grow and eat vegetables from our own garden. Along with that, our savings also increased little by little. Then our chickens started to lay eggs.
And before, being ashamed to go to others for money, I wouldn’t even ask for a loan, and because of the humiliation, I wouldn’t even go to the hospital. But now, I sell eggs and manage my needs with the income from that. Whenever I need money, my group gives me money and helps me.
(The assets Alakamma has built through the programme -her animals, her cultivation, her skills- belong entirely to her. When Palmera’s support ends, these income sources do not disappear. What she has built continues. This is what sustainable economic independence looks like.)
As our group and the Palmera organisation staff continued to help us, we live with great happiness, and we no longer have the worry that there is no one for us. Also, another thing is that in all these years, no one has ever celebrated my birthday. The moment my group celebrated my birthday for the very first time by cutting a cake gave me boundless joy. The primary reason for all of this is the Palmera organisation. Ande to the person who provided me with livelihood assistance, my blessings alone cannot be enough. Palmera has given me a hope that my mother, father, siblings, husband, and children did not provide.
Currently, I am affected by diabetes and I have lost sight in both my eyes. (I’m older now and so there are many hospital bills which this income supports me with, without the income I would have put a burden on my grandchildren and now I don’t have to.)
(Her grandchildren are now happily helping her manage her assets and livelihood while gaining experience and establishing herself in sustainable income generation and economic independence, as a second genaration youth.)
But because of this livelihood assistance I received, I am in a position to manage my savings and small daily expenses.
(Because of her income earned through these livelihoods, she was able to spend the money needed for treatment for her illness which the grandchildren were able to obtain. By receiving that income, the children were able to help their grandmother and themselves, without fearing for the future.)
And not just for me, this organisation has provided a lot of help for our village to prosper. I wish that this organisation, which has given a new life to many families who thought suicide was the only option, will always continue its work. And I ask that they go to villages like ours that live below the poverty line and help improve the livelihoods of the people living there.
My goal is to develop this chicken rearing very well, create something like a chicken farm, sell the eggs in this village, earn a higher income, and live by fulfilling my needs. This is my final wish.
It was while I was living in such a difficult situation that this livelihood assistance was given to us by Mr. Amalan with the help of Palmera. I want to express my family’s gratitude to him and his family for providing this assistance, and I pray to God that Amalan and his family will live today and always with long life and abundant wealth and prosperity.
I pray to God that Amalan and his family, who helped me succeed in my life, will live even more prosperously, happily, and healthily, and I also express my heartfelt thanks.
Thank you.
Alakkamma
This is our final letter from Alakamma. The programme is complete. And what she has built will not end when our work does. She came to us with no savings, no reliable income, and no clear path forward. She leaves with all three. And with the skills, confidence, and community to keep building what she has started long after this programme ends. Thank you for making all this possible. We couldn’t have done it without your generosity.
