your family update
You Backed them and things began to change
Anjana Retnasaba
Donor
When we met Kanthaiya Muniyandi and his wife, their story of resilience and hardship stayed with us long after.
Now living alone in a small temporary house, the couple faces daily struggles. Kanthaiya is elderly, and his wife suffers from painful joint issues that limit their ability to work. Despite their health challenges, they have endured through years marked by loss and hardship. They once had six children, but three of them tragically passed away during the war. The other three children have since married and moved away, unable to provide financial support to their aging parents.
Kanthaiya and his wife own half an acre of land. Their monthly income is only 8,000 LKR (approx $40 AUD) —a small amount that barely covers their basic needs. Yet, Kanthaiya’s experience in goat rearing spans over 15 years. Their land includes glyceria bushes and nearby grazing grounds, and Kanthaiya is still able to go into the forest to collect leaves for the animals.
This livelihood fits their age and capabilities perfectly. With the right support to strengthen their goat rearing, Kanthaiya and his wife could better meet their hospital bills and food expenses. It would ease their daily burdens and allow them to live their remaining years with a little more peace and dignity.
We’ve captured their voice so you can hear their story.
My name is Muniyandi (Kanthaiya). I live in a village in Theravil (village name). I was working as a wage laborer. I was going through a lot of hardship. My wife is also sick. At the same time, I also can’t work much. At the same time, my two children were killed during the last war. So we suffered a lot. Because of that, my wife’s mental health is affected.
(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).
When we were living in great difficulty, a village bank was established there by Palmera. They invited us to join that group. We didn’t know much about it. We joined there. We saved 20, 50, and 100 LKR (approx. $0.50 AUD) every week. They care about our situation. They asked, “What are you doing?” What are you eating? They inquired about our well-being as well. We told them our real situation. They said they would help us. Later, they bought us goats. They gave us five goats. Now I have a total of ten goats. They come to see us all the time and care about us, ask about our goat raising often, and see how we take care of the goat. We sold a goat for 40,000 LKR. With that money, we invested in peanut and green gram cultivations in our land. Now we have harvested. Also, Palmera encouraged us to start fruit and vegetable cultivation. Our livelihood is going well now.
The family that helped you live happily now is the Anjana Retnasaba family. What would you like to say to them?
May the Retna family, who helped us, receive the grace of God. Thank you very much. My wife and I pray to God that they live a long and blessed life.
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 Kanthaiya Muniyandi. My wife and I have 06 children. Of them, 03 children died during the war. The others got married and left. But my family was still affected, with no stability, and without any income, we were not socialising with anyone outside.
(At the time we met Kanthaiya, his family was deeply affected by the consequences of the war and deep poverty. With yours and Palmera’s support, the family began to recover and rebuild their lives.)
While we were living like this, a savings plan started to be implemented in my village, by Palmera. It was then that the staff from this Palmera organisation came and spoke to us. At that time, we told them about our difficult situation. They listened to everything patiently and offered comfort. They continued to talk to us about the village savings group that are being run. They told us about the benefits of the groups.
I felt very hopeful and enthusiastic. I too expressed my wish to join that group, and after joining, I started to save. It was very helpful. Through that, I was able to fulfil my wife’s medical needs. Before this, I used to borrow money from neighbours to fulfil her needs. I am now confident that even in the coming times, I will fulfil our family’s needs from my savings.
(Palmera established the village bank in his 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.)
My wife and I are very careful about what we eat. But there still wasn’t enough food. In this situation, the Palmera organisation provided help like chicken rearing, home gardening, and goat rearing. They provided advice and guidance related to this, helped with methods for setting up sheds, and they visited us.
(Palmera introduced goat rearing as an additional livelihood. It creates a sustainable source of income, bringing him hope and happiness.)
Through chicken rearing, we take the eggs for our food, and we sell the excess to the people nearby. We save the money from that. We get the vegetables from my home garden for our food needs. We give the excess to shops and neighbours.
Along with that, I am rearing goats. They have given birth to kids. I raised and sold them. I used the money for my family and also saved some. I am continuing to breed the goats. With the income that comes from this, we are fulfilling our food and medical needs.
(The assets Kanthaiya has built through the programme -his animals, his cultivation, his skills- belong entirely to him. When Palmera’s support ends, these income sources do not disappear. What he has built continues. This is what sustainable economic independence looks like.)
Other than resettlement, we didn’t think we would live any other way. However, because of Palmera, we feel we have reached a better position. I hope everyone can live like this.
To the person who helped my family, we express our family’s thanks and blessings. Thank you for helping my wife and me to live happily. To you who blessed us, we give our blessings and thanks. You should live a long life.
Thank you,
Kanthaiya
This is our final letter from Kanthaiya. The programme is complete. And what he has built will not end when our work does. He came to us with no savings, no reliable income, and no clear path forward. He leaves with all three. And with the skills, confidence, and community to keep building what he has started long after this programme ends. Thank you for making all this possible. We couldn’t have done it without your generosity.
