your family update
You Backed them and things began to change
Rujanthen Mahalingam
Donor
When we met Sripriya, her home reflected the quiet struggles of a family barely managing to survive. She has a daughter and a son, both attending school, but every day is a challenge. Her husband was injured in the war, leaving him unable to work steadily, and since moving here in 2010, they have lived under severe financial strain. Sripriya works tirelessly, doing wage labor and fishing, just to ensure her family has enough to eat. Despite these hardships, she is determined to provide education for her children, often sacrificing her own needs to make ends meet.
She shared how difficult it is when income is irregular, and how small emergencies, like medical needs or extra school expenses, can throw everything off balance. Yet, there is a quiet resilience in her voice, a determination to keep going no matter the circumstances. Sripriya’s hope lies in the possibility of a sustainable livelihood—something that could secure steady income, support her family’s daily needs, and give her children a chance for a brighter future. Her story is one of courage, endurance, and unwavering love for her children.
My family, I am permanently residing in a village called Manikapuram (village name). My family consists of my husband, my two children, and me. My husband works as a daily wage laborer.
In this situation, I joined the village savings group introduced by Palmera. I am happy to save as much money as I can there. Palmera has taught us a lot, and I have received valuable training through this savings group.
Palmera’s training on fruit and vegetable cultivation and crossbred dairy farming have benefited me greatly. I am very happy that I started fruit and vegetable cultivation based on this training and now I can meet our daily household needs while providing my family to eat nutritious and chemical-free food.
Palmera Savings group is a place for women to come together to learn financial literacy, save and use their collective savings to revolve loans for urgent needs and to improve their businesses. A key part of these groups is for women to share their personal challenges and their shared collective challenges as women and in these safe spaces, women have seen so much value. In addition to this, we focus on food security working through these groups to ensure each family understand how to produce diverse foods and have the technical capacities and the motivation to cultivate. In most of the homes when we arrive, they are not cultivating a home garden.
Considering my income, I have also taken up the crossbred dairy project by Palmera as a means of livelihood. I meet my family’s daily needs by selling milk from my dairy business. I am very happy that my children are healthy from drinking milk as a nutritious food.
Food security is the most critical and we spend time focusing on that in the first year along with identifying the right income source for the family. While the dairy business has begun, there is lot more work we must focus on in order for her to profitably engage and this will be the focus in the year to come (along with her continued strengthening).
On behalf of my family, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Rujanthen Mahalingam for this support and wish him a long, peaceful, and happy life in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ.
– Sripriya
My thanks to Rujanthen Mahalingam Anna (brother)! – Gajendran Kanishtan from Manikapuram (Sripriya’s son)
Our work continues with Sripriya. While she may appear able to stand on her own two feet, lasting change takes time. We will walk alongside her for one more year before letting go of her hand and it is this continued accompaniment that makes all the difference. This is possible because of you. Thank you.
