your family update
You Backed them and things began to change
Christine Muttiah
Donor
When we met Sasiroopini and her daughter, the weight of their struggles was clear in every glance and movement. Their home was little more than a temporary tent, fragile against the rains and sun, yet it was all they had.
Her husband left in 2023, marrying another, and they are now going through a long and painful divorce process. Since then, Sasiroopini has been raising her daughter on her own, relying on her small house and the support of Palmera’s dry food provisions to survive.
The strain shows in her daughter, whose education suffers because malnutrition has made it difficult to concentrate and learn. With suitable land and five years of experience in goat rearing, she dreams of starting a small livelihood that could lift them from daily uncertainty. Every word, every gesture, reflects a mother’s quiet courage — holding onto hope, determined to give her daughter a better future.
We’ve captured their voice so you can hear their story.
I have moved forward after Palmera came. I was in a very difficult situation. They are the ones who made me grow. I hope they will continue to support my children’s education and me. Also, thank you very much for giving me the goat. I thought I would fail in life. But they were the only ones who helped and encouraged me. For that, I am truly grateful to them.
(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).
After joining the Palmera village group, I received a loan of 35,000 LKR (approx. $178 AUD). With that, I cultivated plants like bananas, coconuts and papaya which now provide me with additional income. Now we can eat three meals per day.
The Palmera provided peanuts. I cultivated and earned more income from and used it for household needs. I cultivated it again and again. I am making progress.
(Palmera identified that groundnuts, a profitable sector in her village, had large losses, so we focused on this value chain and plugged many gaps to ensure families could participate in this sector profitably).
Palmera provided me with a goat shed. They provided the training for that; I have now completely set up the goat shed. So I am confident that I will get more income; I will definitely get income, in the past I have been struggling a lot, and now I am confident that I will get income through the goat farm, and I will cover my children’s education expenses, medical expenses, and my expenses from that income.
(Goats are a secondary source of income, but it takes time to convert into a sustainable income source – we will be focused on that in the coming year – to expand her livestock so that it provides a strong supplementary income source).
The Christine Muttiah family, who live in Australia, have provided financial support to this family through Palmera on behalf of their family. They are taking care of their livelihood in the best possible way. I express my heartfelt gratitude to the Christine Muttiah family.
I express my heartfelt gratitude to this family on behalf of my family.