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“I’ve been managing alone for 10 years; my son’s illness, the debt, his studies, I handle all of it on my own.”
Kalaivani lives in Batticaloa, in the East of Sri Lanka, with her 13-year-old son. Her husband left 10 years ago, and she’s managed everything on her own since then.
Her son was born with a hole in his heart. Doctors found it three days after he was born. When he was eight months old, they said he needed a procedure. Kalaivani was scared, and she didn’t take him. By the time he was three, his condition had become serious and he needed an operation.
The cost was 600,000 rupees. She had nothing. She cried out about what she was going through and asked for help wherever she could find it. She’d done cooking at a doctor’s wedding and used what she earned toward his care. She also took loans through the kovil and borrowed money from people at six percent interest. She did everything she could and somehow got him the operation.
He’s in grade eight now, but his studies have been hard since the operation. His ability to focus dropped, and his results haven’t been what they were. Kalaivani keeps sending him to school and watches how he’s doing. At his most recent check-up in Colombo, doctors found two narrowing blood vessels and a leaking valve. There may be another operation ahead. The trips to Colombo aren’t easy with the income she has, but she goes.
To keep the household going, Kalaivani cooks for money, cuts grass, and does paddy planting work. Cooking brings in around 500 to 600 rupees on a working day. The work isn’t steady, and the money isn’t always enough. She borrows to cover the gaps and pays it back when she can.
She still carries debt. The interest keeps adding up, and the medical costs don’t stop. But she keeps working through all of it, and she keeps her son in school. The doctors who treated her son made a deep impression on her. She says they’re like gods to her, the people who saved him. She’s working hard and raising him with the hope that one day he’ll become a doctor himself.
