your family update
You Backed them and things began to change
Easha Suthan
Donor
When we met Mathiyaparanam, the weight of her world was clear in her quiet voice and tired eyes. Her husband, once strong and steady, now struggles with heart disease that keeps him from working. She, too, battles illness that makes earning a wage impossible. Their son carries the heavy burden, working as a laborer to try and meet the family’s basic needs — food on the table and medicine to ease their suffering — but his income falls painfully short.
They have two acres of land, rich and waiting, but it lies untouched, a silent reminder of what could be. Without the capital to farm or invest, the earth beneath their feet remains barren, their hopes stifled by circumstance.
Each day is a battle for survival — a struggle to stretch what little they have and keep going. But beneath the fatigue, there is a quiet hope. If they could begin cattle rearing, using the land they have, it could change everything. It could be the lifeline they desperately need, a way to rebuild and breathe life back into their dreams.
Theivanaiyamma carries this hope like a fragile flame — ready to grow, if only given the chance.
We’ve captured their voice so you can hear their story.
I live in Manikkapuram village (village name). Initially, we lived in very hard times. The children are going to school, so the situation was very difficult. We did not have any livelihood before. We are doing the work we can and raising our children. We were living in the midst of hardship.
(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).
We were joined by Palmera’s Village savings bank, and it is making some progress. We are now overcoming our problems. We are still living in a bit of a difficult situation. Our hospital expenses are high. My husband is also ill. He is also being treated for a heart condition. He has not been able to do the surgery for four years now. We do not have money and cannot get his surgery. Hospital and transportation expenses are very difficult to fulfill. We are living in such a period. A Palmera village bank has been formed in our village, and I am a member of that group. I get a loan from it and can take care of my food expenses and hospital expenses. So now I have a little less problem.
The Palmera team also joined us, gave us advice, and we cooperated with them. We are doing according to their advice. We are making some progress now. I have half an acre of land. I have planted peanuts in it. Palmera gave peanut seeds to cultivate. I cultivated them and am getting the benefits from it. Similarly, I have done it twice now. So, I don’t have a problem now. I am going for fruit and vegetable cultivation and am making progress.
I have been selected as a dairy beneficiary by Palmera. They helped me to build a cow shed. We are setting up a cow shed. I am interested in doing dairy farming. If they give me cows, I will raise them well and get milk from them and benefit from them. This is my desire. Through that, I can still meet my needs.
Mother, Easha Suthan’s family has helped your family. What do you want to say to them?
What I want to tell them is that we are very grateful to him for helping my family through all this hardship. We thank him with all our hearts until our last breath. We pray that God blesses them. We express our heartfelt gratitude to him again and again.
