your family update
You Backed them and things began to change
“When there’s nothing to eat at home, all six of us go out to the forest to find something.”
Santhi lives in Palacholai, a village in the East of Sri Lanka, with her husband and their four children. The household runs on daily labour wages. Her husband goes out for work each day, and at least one of her sons does the same. Another son stays at home, and another helps with cattle. One of her daughters is away at university, living in a hostel on campus.
There is no steady salary coming in. Daily labour means some days there is work and some days there isn’t. When there is nothing to eat at home, the whole family goes out to the forest to find something. That is how they get through the gaps. Santhi’s son takes on daily labour work, so his sister can keep studying. The family is stretching what little comes in to cover six people and university costs at the same time.
Santhi says there are no big house expenses on top of that, which is one less thing to carry. But feeding and supporting a family this size on wages that are not guaranteed is a constant effort. Whatever comes in has to go a long way.
What keeps the family going is what they are working toward together. Santhi’s daughter is at university, and that matters to all of them. Santhi and her husband are holding the household together while that is happening. And this is not something that fell into place. Each person in the family is playing their part to make it work.
When she talks about the future, Santhi says she just wants the family to be in a good place, to be cared for by their children, and to live well.
