your family update
You Backed them and things began to change
Kirsty Anantharajah
Donor
When we first met Santhakumar and her family, she greeted us with a warm smile that couldn’t hide the struggles behind her eyes. She spoke softly about her two children, both full of dreams and determination, walking to school each day with their books held close. Her husband works tirelessly as a daily wage earner, yet steady work is rare, and every rupee must stretch far.
Their home, a temporary shelter built in 2012, has weathered many storms—both the ones outside and the silent ones within. She shared how the walls do little to protect them from the rain or the fear of what tomorrow may bring. Yet, amid all this, Vinothini continues to pour her love into her family, cooking, cleaning, and ensuring her children never go to school hungry.
Her words carried a quiet strength, but also a longing—for stability, for safety, and for the peace of knowing her children will grow up in a home that will always be there. That day, we didn’t just meet Vinothini; we met a mother whose heart refuses to give up hope.
We’ve captured their voice so you can hear their story.
Vanakkam (Greetings). I am Shantharukumar Vinothini. I live in Manikapuram village. In our family, my husband, our two children, and I live together. My husband works as a wage earner, and we pay for the expenses of the children at home, as well as their education and food expenses. The fact is that we do not have a permanent home. We have been living in a temporary house for so long. Also, we faced a lot of difficulties during the rainy season without having a house.
(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).
Also, a village bank was operating near our village. The sisters there said that a group was going on, and they said, Come and see. They called us to join the village bank. We also went and joined. In fact, they told us to save money in that, just 50 LKR ($0.25 AUD), and how much we had, 50 LKR or 100 LKR ($0.50 AUD), according to the amount of money we had, and we saved that money and joined them. We made a small fruit and vegetable cultivation. We took small loans from our savings. We started making fruit and vegetable cultivation. Earlier, we planted 10 crops. Now we grow 15 or 20 and take it for our household needs and cooking; we get good vegetables that are free from chemicals. And we sell the extra vegetables to the shops and buy rice, flour, meat, etc. from it. Through that, we make our livelihood. It is a big help for us. It is a great joy for us that a group has come like this.
We also got groundnuts from the organization (Palmera). We grew groundnuts on a quarter acre of land and took the seeds and planted them the next season. We used to do the groundnuts cultivation twice a year. We got two or three times the amount of groundnuts from that and sold it and took care of the education expenses of our children. We also took care of the expenses of our two children. This was a big help to me. Also, when I asked to be selected as a beneficiary of the cattle from the organization (Palmera), they came to see the house and agreed to it and said that we should plant the grass and selected me. I have now set up a cow shed and planted grass. I am very happy that I was chosen.
What do you want to say to the family who helped you, Kirsty Anantharajah?
What I want to say is that we were very poor. No one else has helped us for a long time. We asked many people. No one helped us. We were in such a situation. But today, if they have helped us, I will be grateful to them for a long time. I also pray to God that these people, their families, and children, who have helped our family in this way, may live long and be very happy. We thank you for helping us and continuing to do so, brother.
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 Vinothini. I live in a village called Manikkapuram in the North of Sri Lanka. I live with my daughter and my son. My eldest daughter is studying in the 6th grade. My son is studying in the 1st grade. With all this, I was still living in a state where I was unable to go out for work. My children and I were in a state of extreme poverty. Previously, the projects that were in our village did not provide us with any income. We had no money in hand. Our main problem was our daily food needs.
(At the time we met Vinothini, her family was struggling with deep poverty. With yours and Palmera’s support, she found the strength to save her own money and build a livelihood, helping her family recover and rebuild their lives.)
Now, on behalf of my family, I am very happy to express my heartfelt gratitude to you Kirsty who provided this assistance to my family. While we were in this situation, an aid group meeting was held. At that time, Palmera’s staff came and had a discussion with me. When I discussed my state of poverty with the Palmera’s staff, they spoke to me with love and support. Then, my worries ended and I was willing to join them. I didn’t even know what savings were. But I started saving. The small savings were sufficient. I realised this. And I became eager to save more. Therefore, it is my effort to increase my savings as much as possible.
(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. 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.)
One day I needed money for my children’s education. Even when I asked the neighbours, I couldn’t get it. I went to my group and got a small loan of 2000/- rupees and fulfilled my child’s education expenses. That made me happy. The thought arose that from now on, I don’t need to beg from anyone. Because of that, I gained the confidence that if I keep at it, I could fulfill all my family’s needs by myself. In the past month, I have saved 25,000/- rupees as my money.
(Through the programme, Vinothini has been able to place her children’s education at the centre of her household planning. When a mother can pay school fees without crisis or borrowing, children stay in school. And with that, the path forward for the next generation begins to open.)
Like many others, my family faces various difficulties in meeting our daily food needs. So I bought a good-breed of cow through the organisation. From this, I get an income of 15,000/- rupees once every 15 days. In addition to it, I am able to use her milk for our daily food needs too.
The programme also gave us good seeds like eggplant, chilli, tomato, long beans, and okra. Using that, I made a small home garden. After taking what I need for my food, I sell the rest to the neighbours. From that money, I am able to take what I need for my own needs.
Next, chickens were given to us. I have hatched their eggs and now I have 12 chickens. They lay eggs. I use them for the family’s food needs. I sell the rest in the small shops in my village and save that money. Sometimes I will sell to them to the members of my home group too.
(The assets Vinothini has built through the programme -her animals, her cultivation, her skills- belong entirely to her. When Palmera’s support ends, these income sources do not disappear. What she has built continues. This is what sustainable economic independence looks like.)
I also undertook groundnut cultivation. Because of Palmera, I started cultivating 1/4 acre of groundnuts. Currently, I am cultivating 1 acre of groundnuts. I have received a profit from groundnuts three times, between 75,000/- and 85,000/-. This is a great matter of pride to me. I do not take loans now. This is a big thing.
(Palmera focuses on peanuts because it is a profitable sector that many in the region were not able to profitably engage in. What was needed was to address many last mile agricultural barriers including new practices, technologies, access to quality seeds and collective purchasing of inputs and selling, all activities that we supported Vinothini with.)
My relatives and neighbours ask about my family’s progress. I saw it firsthand in the village savings group. So I came and taught them all the methods of the village savings group. I have joined three of them to my group. I am proud of this.
(When a woman who once came for support becomes the person her neighbours seek out for guidance, the programme’s purpose has been fulfilled. Vinothini is now a resource for her community, extending the reach of what you have made possible.)
I pray to God that Kristy and her family lives a long life with good health. We have not seen you directly. But we bless you, who have raised my family’s income through your hands. May your hands always be God’s graceful hands.
Thank you,
Vinothini
This is our final letter from Vinothini. The programme is complete. And what she has built will not end when our work does. She came to us with no savings, no reliable income, and no clear path forward. She leaves with all three. And with the skills, confidence, and community to keep building what she has started long after this programme ends. Thank you for making all this possible. We couldn’t have done it without your generosity.
