your family update
You Backed them and things began to change
Raj
Donor
Rajeshwary’s family is living from one day of work to the next. Even when her husband finds wage labour, what he earns is not enough to reliably provide three meals for their family.
Rajeshwary lives with her husband and their two daughters. Her husband takes daily wage work whenever it is available, but the work is uncertain and the income has to cover every need in their home. When there is less work, or an unexpected cost, there is no extra money to fall back on.
At home, Rajeshwary carries the responsibility of caring for their daughters and managing the household. This makes it difficult for her to take work outside the home, even though she wants to contribute to the family’s income. For now, the family depends almost entirely on what her husband can earn from one day to the next.
The pressure is felt most clearly in their food. The family cannot always afford three meals a day, so they must keep adjusting what they buy and how they manage. With so little left after meeting immediate needs, building savings or planning ahead has felt beyond their reach.
Rajeshwary and her husband hope to become self-employed so they are not always dependent on uncertain wage labour. A small livelihood that Rajeshwary could manage while remaining close to her daughters could give her a way to earn and help the family build greater stability. But they do not yet have the skills, confidence or starting funds needed to turn that hope into something dependable.
For Rajeshwary, a more secure future begins with being able to provide enough food, contribute to the household income and set something aside for the future. She wants her family to move beyond simply getting through each day and towards a life where they have choices, a reliable livelihood and greater security for their daughters.
Your support over the next two years can help Rajeshwary build the skills, resources and confidence to develop her own livelihood, strengthen her family’s food security and work towards a more stable future.
Please note for many women sharing in written form is not easy. We sit with women to support them to share their story and have added context so you can weave together what you have made possible.
Are you well? I pray to God for you to live well. I am living with my family, my husband and two children. My husband does daily wage work. I am currently raising chickens. I sell eggs.
Many village savings groups were functioning in my village. Initially I disregarded them. This is because the importance of the village savings group was not clear to me. I also didn’t know about savings. When I went and spoke to the Roja group members, they explained about savings. I thought I could also do this, so I spoke to the Palmera staff member, Tharsini Akka, and I myself gathered ten members and started saving. I also continuously acted as the bookkeeper in our savings group. I initially saved 50 rupees. For the assistance scheme for chicken rearing and home gardening, I received 5000 rupees loan. Later, with 5 chickens, saplings for a nursery, and seeds, I made a small garden and raised chickens. From the garden, I got poison-free vegetables, and we used the village chicken eggs in our food. Because of this, food shortages were somewhat alleviated. I sold the excess vegetables and eggs to the local shops and group members. Along with this, I also made and sold nursery beds. The income I got from this, I saved. Before, I saved 50 rupees. Now I save 200 or 300 rupees. For all these changes, our village savings group was a great help. For this, I thank the village savings group.
(Palmera established the village bank in her village to develop financial literacy, a place to save and revolve their savings as loans to reduce their debt from predatory lenders. But for some women, like Rajeshwary when we met her, they are reluctant. A beautiful part of this programme is that in the villages we begin with early adopters, women who we can engage with, and then mentor them to engage other women who are more reluctant. This takes time, but it is a powerful way in which the village bank grows, because when a woman from Rajeshwary’s village shares the benefits, she can trust it deeply. It is a significant process to upskill on financial literacy and savings practices and how the group can transparently administer loans, but it is the foundation for everything that follows).
(We then begin with food security, with increased climate variability, many of the villagers have stopped basic food security practices, and so with new techniques and training, we rebuild these practices first).
All this time, I was managing on my husband’s earnings. But I didn’t have the habit of saving. But now I am in the village savings group. In our group, because of the rotating leadership system, every member led the weekly meetings. In this situation, I also got a chance. I also came forward and developed the skill of speaking. Along with that, there is no other place where our village savings group members can gather and talk. But in our group, we got the opportunity to talk. Because of this, I was happy. For this, I am very thankful.
(Along with savings and literacy, we spend significant time in other trainings like conflict resolution, goal setting and other support that help build strong communities. It always surprises us the lack of connectivity in the villages when we meet them and how these collectives form an important base to rebuild that).
I expanded my home garden and used natural fertilizer and pesticides. Because of this, I got 3rd place from the Poonakari Divisional Secretariat. For this, I also got a cash prize of 5000 rupees. Because of this, I was very happy. While I was continuously active in our group, I got an initial loan of 5000 rupees and bought chickens. (This is the same 5,000 rupee loan she mentioned earlier.) I raised them along with the chickens I had before and sold more eggs. Later, I paid back the loan in small amounts, and after finishing it, I again got a loan of 10000 rupees and bought a wood-cutting machine for my husband. Because of this, my husband was also happy. The third time, I took a loan of 30000 rupees and bought saplings. The fourth time, I got a loan of 50000 rupees. I put up a front fence with posts and barbed wire and completed the front work. The 5th time, I got a loan of 150000 rupees and completed the front work of my house (portico). (Members can borrow up to twice their savings, so her growing savings made this larger loan possible.) I, my husband, and my children were happy because of this.
In the beginning, my husband was unwilling to join the village savings group and would argue with me. Now, seeing the development that I and my family are experiencing because of our village savings group, my husband gives me his full support. I am happy about this. I am now, along with chicken rearing, also producing aloe vera and selling aloe vera pups and aloe vera leaves to get an income. I have increased my savings from 500 to 1000 rupees In my group, there is a total of 300,000 rupees. In this, my savings are 75,000 rupees. In the group, my savings are the highest. To face all this, the village savings group has given strength and self-confidence. Because of this, I am very happy.
(Her weekly savings grew step by step, from 50 LKR to 200 – 300 LKR to now 500 – 1000 LKR).
After this group started, I participated in many training classes. I was selected as the continuous cluster representative. I got involved in public service and did services for the village. Because of this, I have gained recognition in my village. If a need arises in our village, they contact me by phone and ask for advice. I am very happy about this.
(In the village banking groups of which there are several we establish in Rajeshwary’s village, as each group is about 10–20 women, we then, when we have two representatives from each group who form the cluster and who then represent the village, identify issues and represent the women to stakeholders and address key issues they face).
Thank you,
Rajeshwary.
Our work continues with Rajeshwary. She has begun the journey to stand on her own, but lasting change takes time. We will walk alongside her for one more year before letting go of her hand. It is this continued accompaniment that makes all the difference. And this is possible because of you. Thank you.
