your family update
You Backed them and things began to change
Rohana Yoganathan
Donor
When we met Vijikala and her family, their determination was something you could feel before a word was even spoken. It was in the way they looked at their children, in the quiet strength that carried them through each day, and in the way they kept moving forward despite life placing obstacle after obstacle in their path.
There are six in the family—Vijikala, her husband, and their four children. All four are in school, trying to focus on their lessons while the weight of home struggles sits silently on their shoulders.
Her husband once worked inside a well, but one tragic day changed everything. He slipped, hitting his head hard on a piece of metal. The injury left him unable to stand in the sun for long or take on heavy labor. Even so, he pushes himself to do daily wage work whenever possible. But the few rupees he earns can never stretch far enough to feed six hungry mouths.
Vijikala, with five years of sewing experience, carries her own quiet dream—to use her skills to help her family stand taller. If she had a sewing machine of her own, she could work from home, earn a steady income, and ease the heavy load her husband carries
They live on a small quarter-acre of land, but without their own water supply, every drop they use—whether for drinking, cooking, or washing—must be fetched from a neighbor’s home. Their monthly income is just 12,000 LKR (approx $61 AUD), barely enough to scrape by.
And yet, in their eyes, there is no surrender. Only the hope that one day, their children will live a life free from this struggle—a life built on the sacrifices their parents make today.
We’ve captured their voice so you can hear their story.
How do you feel about your family life now?
I have seen some improvements in my life over these last six months. My daughter received a sewing machine and is now part of a village savings group, steadily growing her savings. I am also doing a fruit and vegetables cultivation, which has greatly benefited us. I am determined to make it even more efficient and expand it further. I will continue to do fruit and vegetables cultivation. I am using this to improve my life.
How is your family situation now?
My daughter is now engaged in a business (supported by Palmera) and I am also engaged in a business now (fruit and vegetables).
Progressing with a business supported by Palmera, and I am also advancing through self-employment with Palmera’s help. My husband is fully supporting me in this journey, and together, we are earning respect from everyone. My husband’s cooperation has been doubled.
Are you attending the village savings group?
(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).
Yes, I am attending to the village savings group. It has been a wonderful experience where we discuss various topics with other women, share our views, and learn things that we didn’t know before.
What do you think is the main reason for the changes that have taken place in your family recently?
Palmera established a village savings group, discussed, and given a livelihood. They held meetings for that. They provided training on how to do fruit and vegetables cultivation. Palmera taught us all the things that we did not know. Through that, we started doing fruit and vegetables cultivation. Earlier, we were not able to do fruit and vegetables cultivation with our 1/4 acre of land. But now there is a situation where we can do fruit and vegetables cultivation even on a small piece of land.
What is your future goal?
My future goal is to earn a profit from my sewing machine, along with the income from my fruit and vegetables cultivation. I also plan to expand my poultry farming and sell chickens and use the earnings to cover my children’s education expenses and future needs. This is my wish.
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 Vijayan Vithikala. I live in the village of Theravil. I live with my four children and my husband. I have two sons and two daughters. My husband does for daily wage labour. It was barely enough to survive.
(At the time we met Vijikala, her family was struggling with deep poverty. With Palmera’s support, she found the strength to save her own money and build a livelihood, helping her family recover and rebuild their lives.)
On behalf of my family, I express my thanks to Ronan and to his family who provided us with assistance when we were in this situation.
A village savings group program was brought to our village by Palmera. Two staff members who visited asked me to join the village savings group. After that, I went to five or six meetings. I was in a situation where I couldn’t save. My savings were not stable. Saving under a group scheme was not new to me. But this group was a new experience.
Every Sunday, we all went to the meeting together. There, a staff member gave training on the importance of saving. After that, I felt the desire and determination to save. When saving with other women, the sense of responsibility to save continuously increased. A staff member helped me plan how much I could save per week without affecting our needs. According to that, I saved every week. It started small but now, based on my income, I have started saving 300 rupees a week. Currently, I have 135,700 rupees in savings.
(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.)
Against this, I took a loan of 150,000 rupees and spent it on my eldest daughter’s higher education. Because of this, I did not have to wander looking for work. It gives me so much pride that I am taking care of my child’s education with my own money, without borrowing from anyone.
(Through the programme, Vijikala 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.)
It gives me satisfaction. I now have no fear about fulfilling my family’s future needs.
Through the Palmera, I have bought a sewing machine for my livelihood. Since I knew how to sew, I am doing sewing work in a fine manner. My monthly income is approximately 32,000 rupees. Even before joining the program, I knew how to sew. But I did not have any platform to fully showcase my skills. Through the program, after proper guidance and proper training, I myself am sewing and providing clothes for women. I am now in a position to fulfill all my family’s needs better than before.
If you look at my daily food situation, before the program, I was in a state where I could only eat dhal and rice. Now, that is, after joining the village savings group, and after the training that was given there, I started a home garden. In it, I planted crops like tomato, okra, long beans, and types of greens, and my family and I began to eat nutritious food. We feel a lot of pride in this.
The fear of “Will there be enough money for food each week?” is not there now. My old situation has completely changed. I am happy to sell the vegetables I have to my neighbours and buy fish and meat to cook for my children. My children are happy to maintain the plants in the home garden and water them too.
(The assets Vijikala 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.)
When poverty was tormenting me, I could not integrate with society. If I expressed some opinions during discussions, they were not seen as something people who would accept. But today, in this situation, I have improved.
That situation has now changed too, it gives me great pride that they listen to my varied opinions. I am now answering the village’s question of “What can a woman do?” Not only that, but I now have the confidence within me that I can achieve anything. Now, I don’t worried about my future under any circumstance.
My next goal is to get two sewing machines and provide employment opportunities to two women who are suffering from poverty like me. That is my aim.
Although it is a great sadness that this program is leaving us, I will never worry about my future. Because I am confident that I will carry out all my family’s activities with my own income, and I tell you this with happiness.
My family and I pray to God that Rohana, who was the reason for this great happiness of mine, and his family may live even more prosperously, happily, and healthily.
We also pray to God that you and your family should live a long life without any sickness or disease, and that you should always receive God’s blessings to live happily and joyfully.
Thank you,
Vijikala
This is our final letter from Vijikala. 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.
