your family update
You Backed them and things began to change
“Even when I work as hard as I can, it still falls short. That’s just how it has been.”
Ramani lives with her husband and their two children in Anuradapura, North Central Sri Lanka. Her 15-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son are both in school, and keeping things steady for them is what drives most of what the family does each day.
There’s no single source of income in this house. Ramani takes on tailoring, day labour, and farming work, depending on what’s available. Her husband does farming too, and when the farming season goes quiet, he looks for wood work or whatever outside jobs he can find. A few months each year, the family collects medicinal plants like nelli and dodang, dries them, and her husband takes them to a collection point to sell. It’s seasonal work, but it helps fill the gaps. Because they grow some of their own rice, food is one less thing to worry about most of the time.
The bigger pressure is the children’s schooling. School costs don’t stop even when the work does, so the family saves bit by bit from whatever comes in to keep up with those expenses. Their daughter is being pushed toward becoming a lawyer, something both Ramani and her husband want for her. Their son is strong in running and his teachers say he’s got real ability in it. The family is behind both children and wants to see them do well in whatever direction they go.
The house has been one of the hardest parts. The family has lived there for about 14 to 15 years, but for a time it fell into such bad shape they couldn’t stay in it. They managed to repair it, and they’ve kept working on it since, but it still isn’t finished. Now that their daughter is older, Ramani feels strongly that they need at least two proper rooms. Building something solid and complete is the thing that sits heaviest on her.
When money runs short, both she and her husband pick up whatever work they can find. There’s no waiting for things to improve on their own. She’s said herself that even when she works as hard as she can, there are still shortfalls, and she takes that as just part of how life is right now. What she keeps coming back to is the house and the children’s futures. She wants to finish building a proper home and see both her children educated and settled well.