your family update
You Backed them and things began to change
Kavi & Shehan Selva Jay
Donor
When we met Santhirasekar and his family, their quiet resilience was clear despite the many challenges they face every day.
There are four members in the family— Santhirasekar, his wife, and their two children. Life has been a constant struggle for them. Santhirasekar was seriously injured in a road accident and is no longer able to do heavy work, which has limited their ability to earn a steady income. His wife lives with hypothyroidism, a condition that affects her energy and well-being daily, making it difficult for her to contribute much physically.
Their eldest daughter is also struggling. She suffers from a vitamin deficiency, which leaves her feeling weak and inactive, making it hard for her to keep up with schoolwork and other activities that children her age enjoy.
The family owns half an acre of land, but it remains unfenced, leaving it vulnerable and underused. Their home garden is unfinished, and water comes only from mud wells that dry up during the harsh summer months, creating even more difficulties for the family.
Despite these hardships, Santhirasekar and his family have hope. They have land suitable for goat rearing—a simple livelihood that could offer a steady source of income and help them improve their situation. With the right support to start goat farming, they could take important steps toward economic stability and a better future for their children.
We’ve captured their voice so you can hear their story.
We are very happy. We are very happy because of Palmera.
(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).
Palmera started a village bank. When I joined it, they asked me what kind of help I needed. They said if we got the right help, we could improve our lives. They asked if we were raising goats, cows, chickens, or other animals. I said we were raising goats. They said they would help us with goat farming. They came to see us and helped us build a goat shed. They gave us money to build the goat shed. They came once a week to check if we were doing it properly. They also gave us training on how to build the goat shed. They gave us money to buy goats, and we bought goats.
Now, we are happily raising goats and happy with them. We have named them Pattu, Rasathi, Rani, Seetha, and Raja, They became our family now. We take care of them just like we take care of our children. They are like our children to us. We play with them happily and enjoy it. All my children are also happy to play with them.
Palmera gave us training on goat farming — how to raise goats, what to do if they get sick, and more. So through Palmera, we take care of the goats. If the goats get sick, we tell them, and they come to help us. We are getting the best services through Palmera.
What is your family future goal?
We are doing farming, raising goats, and chickens. As a mother, I believe we will get more income; it will help my children and pay for their education as well.
This family expresses their heartfelt gratitude to the donor of Palmera, Kavi and Shehan Selva Jay from Australia, who support them.
Thank you very much for helping us.
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 Santhirasekar, and I live in Mullativu. My family is a family of 04 members. There is me, my wife, and 02 daughters. As I have been in an accident, I am in a state where I cannot do strenuous, heavy work.
Because my wife has throat cancer, she is also in a state where she cannot do daily wage labour. My eldest daughter is seen as having a disability and is hearing impaired. Getting her the help she needed was very difficult. Before the projects came to our village, my family was living far below the poverty line.
(At the time we met Santhirasekar, his family was struggling with deep poverty. With yours and Palmera’s support, he found the strength to save his own money and build a livelihood, helping his family recover and rebuild their lives.)
While things were like this, Palmera established a savings group in our village. When I was not interested in joining this group, a staff member came to our house and clarified the benefits that come from it and from saving. It was only after he spoke that I told my wife, let’s join this group. My wife joined the village savings group. Many women joined that group and saved.
(Palmera established the village bank in his 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.)
In the beginning, my wife did not have money to save even once a month. A staff member from Palmera came to the savings group to provide training regarding the importance of savings, its benefits, and related topics. After that, the thought of saving was always with us.
From our small income, we started saving 50 rupees every Sunday. And we continued to share with the members, we were able to share with a sense of belonging and the worries in our hearts, our difficulties, and our state of poverty.
After that, we started to increase our savings money to 100 rupees, then 200 rupees. In this way, I now have 58,950 rupees in savings. I feel happy thinking about this!
At that time we were struggling even for our daily food needs, but they helped me with a goat shed and (05) goats. Today, I have 19 goats from them. I sold 3 male goats from that. I sold them for 105,000/- rupees and fulfilled my children’s educational needs and medical needs, and I also bought a Tanveer water pump. The motor machine cost 65,000 rupees.
(Palmera introduced goat rearing as an additional livelihood. It creates a sustainable source of income, bringing hope and happiness.)
And I am raising 30 chickens now. For our daily food needs, we take 6 eggs. I sell the remaining eggs to the neighbouring houses. I get an income of 500 rupees per day. I also have a home garden. I plant vegetable varieties like eggplant, okra, chilli, long beans, pumpkin, and tomato. After using what is needed for the house, I sell the rest. This help which I received through my group, has made it possible to provide for my household needs. I am happy to use these vegetables for our food.
Both my children are studying. Their names are S. Kesavika and S. Raakavithaa. My daughter has passed the Grade 05 scholarship exam. I bought her educational expenses and practice books with the income I earned, and with the income from the goat shed. Thinking of this, my family and I are happy.
(Through the programme, Santhirasekar has been able to place his children’s education at the centre of his household planning. When parents 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.)
I can do gardening skillfully in the neighbourhood. Through our group, I received a ¼ acre project. I was selected for cultivation. Then they gave seeds for it, groundnuts, and types of dhal. I planted them, and with the income I got from it, I have made savings for both my children (in the bank).
(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 Santhirasekar with.)
The fear of whether there would be money for food needs every week is not there now. The old situation has completely changed. Now I am happy that I can provide my children with fish and meat from the shop.
(The assets Santhirasekar has built through the programme —his animals, his cultivation, his skills- belong entirely to him. When Palmera’s support ends, these income sources do not disappear. What he has built continues. This is what sustainable economic independence looks like.)
When poverty was tormenting me, I could not recover and stand up straight. And if I spoke up as a man in some discussions, people didn’t accept it. I have suffered and worried for so many days. That situation has now changed, and they listen to my opinions. It is my goal and my dream to buy goats and give 2 goats each to families who are living in poverty like I was, and to get them involved in goat rearing too.
(When someone who once came for support becomes the person their neighbours seek out for guidance, the programme’s purpose has been fulfilled. Santhirasekar, is now a resource for his community, extending the reach of what you have made possible.)
Now, this project is leaving us. But thinking of my future, I am not worried. In my daily struggle, I will carry forward all the activities of my life. Because a permanent self-employment is needed for a family’s future, I have planned to buy a cow with the income I get from the goats and the garden. This is my family’s goal.
I take pride in expressing my heartfelt thanks on behalf of my family to Sekar and Selvaayo. Furthermore, we pray to the God we worship daily that Sekar and Selvaayo, who provided help to my family, and their families should live happily and healthily. We pray that these relatives, and their families, should live with long life and without any illnesses. My family expresses our thanks to them and also bids farewell.
Thank you,
Santhirasekar
This is our final letter from Santhirasekar. 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.
