your family update
You Backed them and things began to change
Barry Clearwater
Donor
When we first met Bhavani, we saw a mother carrying the heavy burden of raising her four children almost entirely on her own. At 54 years old, her days are filled with endless struggles to provide the basics for her family. Though her husband earns money, most of it is lost to drinking, leaving Bhavani with only a small government welfare payment to care for her children. This support is far from enough to cover their daily food, clothing, and school expenses.
Bhavani’s life is marked not only by poverty but also by the violence she faces at home, adding to her pain and uncertainty. Each day she battles against overwhelming odds, determined to shield her children and give them what little she can. Her greatest wish is simple yet powerful—to have enough money to feed, clothe, and educate her children so they can grow up with dignity and hope for a better future. Despite the hardships pressing in on every side, Bhavani’s love for her children and her resilience in the face of suffering shine through. Her story is a reminder of the silent courage of mothers who fight every day to protect their families, even when the world feels against them.
We’ve captured their voice so you can hear their story.
Do you feel any difference between where you were before and where you are now after getting this livelihood?
Yes, we definitely feel a lot of difference. Now we take five liters of milk from our dairy business. In the evenings, we take three liters of milk and keep it in the refrigerator, and if we sell it, we can earn more money. We can cover the education expenses of our children. Since we have given a healthy cow, we can get more milk from it.
We were in a very difficult situation before. We only went to work as wage laborers. My husband is also sick. We did not have money to send our children to tuition classes. After starting this dairy farming, we get income from it, and through it we send our children to tuition classes. My child has also got admission to university.
Are you happy now?
Yes, I am very happy that my child has got admission to university. The next child is doing her A-level examination. Even though I was not feeling well before, I would go to work. I go to work because I have no income, and the family is in a difficult situation. Only if I go can we eat. But now if I have any physical illness, I don’t need to go to work. I can do dairy farming from home. I can also give my husband nutritious food. We are very happy.
(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).
Have you joined village savings groups?
Yes, I have joined village savings group. I was saving about 20LKR (Approx $0.10 AUD). Now I have increased my savings to 50LKR (Approx $0.25 AUD).If there is any urgent need, we can immediately get a loan. When my husband is sick, my village savings group members visit and care for him. They will help us by giving us milk powder, etc. That is also a big help for us.
What is your future goal?
Now I have two cows. I get milk from them and earn income. My wish is to increase this dairy farming to 15 to 20 cows. It is because Palmera helped me to do dairy farming that I got interested in dairy farming. I still need to increase this dairy farming. I have a desire to get more benefit from this.
The person who helped you so that your family could be happy is Barry Clearwater. Do you have anything you would like to say to them?
I express my gratitude to them. They request them to continue to help those who are struggling like us. They are the reason why our family is happy today. We pray to God that their family and their children may be blessed for helping us. May they be blessed with millions of thanks. Their help to us was a great act of charity. We express our gratitude for that.
