your family update
You Backed them and things began to change
Jayantha Weeraratne
Donor
When we met Rajakumari, her home reflected the weight of constant struggle and uncertainty. Rajakumari and her family are living through immense hardship, with no steady source of income to rely on. Her husband works as a daily wage laborer, but finding regular work is never guaranteed, leaving the family unsure of how they will manage from one day to the next.
Rajakumari herself is gravely ill, which limits her ability to work or contribute to the household income. Despite her poor health, she continues to worry most about her four children, all of whom are attending school. Providing food, school supplies, and basic necessities is a daily challenge, and education expenses often feel overwhelming. The family lives in extreme poverty, where every decision is shaped by a lack of resources and constant financial pressure.
Yet, even in these difficult circumstances, there is hope. Rajakumari shared her desire to transform the small piece of land they have through cattle rearing, believing it could offer a sustainable livelihood for her family. With the right support, this opportunity could help them secure food, meet education needs, and move toward a more stable and dignified future.
We’ve captured their voice so you can hear their story.
My name is Rajakumari. There are six members in my family, and four of them are studying. We were living in very difficult circumstances.
During this time, we joined Palmera’s Village Savings Group. Through this group, we save 50 LKR (approx. $0.25 AUD) or 100 LKR (approx. $0.50 AUD) regularly. We attend the trainings provided by Palmera and continue to participate actively in the group.
We have one acre of land, but earlier we did not have the facilities or knowledge to make use of it. Palmera supported us by providing peanut for cultivation. By cultivating peanut, we are now able to gain benefits and improve our livelihood.
Through the savings group, we are also able to take small loans to meet our household and children’s school needs. We repay these loans little by little, which has helped us manage our expenses responsibly.
Through the group, we also received training on fruit and vegetable cultivation and chicken feed. Because of this, we are now able to raise chickens and grow vegetables. My children also help with the fruit and vegetable cultivation after returning from school, which has become a great support for our family.
Palmera Savings group is a place for women to come together to learn financial literacy, save and use their collective savings to revolve loans for urgent needs and to improve their businesses. A key part of these groups is for women to share their personal challenges and their shared collective challenges as women and in these safe spaces, women have seen so much value.
Considering our difficult situation, Palmera has organized a dairy project for us. Through this alternative livelihood support, we will be able to sell milk and meet our children’s education expenses and other household needs.
Food security is the most critical and we spend time focusing on that in the first year along with identifying the right income source for the family. While the dairy business has begun, there is lot more work we must focus on in order for her to profitably engage and this will be the focus in the year to come (along with her continued strengthening).
The Jayantha Weeraratne family helped you live happily. What would you like to say to them?
We are deeply grateful to the Jayantha Weeraratne family for helping our family. We sincerely thank them for their kindness and support. We pray for continued blessings upon them, their family, and their children, and wish them good health, happiness, and peace.