Gurumada is small village situated in Meegahakiula. This area is warm and dry with limited access to clean water, but Shamali (46), Wijeratne (51) and Wathsala (16) call it home. Since the village is in one of the poorest regions in Sri Lanka, this family was facing many difficulties with their livelihood. As the father is the bread winner in the family, he used to go to the farmers market a few days a week and earn a living for his family.
"We found out Wathsala was a slow learner when she was in preschool" says Shamali. As a caring mother, she worried constantly about Wathsala as she was bullied in school. "She went to school only until grade 7, since she did not realize that she is a teenager, she smiled with anyone and that led to complications with certain boys getting the wrong message". Shamali stayed at home to take care of Wathsala.
It was a very difficult situation for their family as only one person in the family was having an income, and even that was not a steady income. Shamali said that they were in desperate need for a better livelihood.
Shamali then said with a smile, “The BCoB project (Bridging the Community on Board) provided us with the financial aid, which we used to build the shop". BCoB is a jointly implemented project by Janathakshan and World Vision Lanka. With the aim of building resilience in civil society organizations the project also helps some families to strengthen their livelihoods. Shamali and family were able to reach the project staff through the Samaja sewa ayathanaya, which is a civil society organisation. It has been around one year since they have built their shop. Now the husband does not need to travel far on a daily basis to earn a living.
Shamali and Wijeratne manage the shop together. "Our customers mainly come to our shop for a cup of tea; it is the only shop in the village that serves tea", says Shamali. They have expanded their shop to make space for a table and a few chairs for customers that come for tea and short eats.
They have been quite successful with maintaining the shop. They use their day to day income to bring commodities needed for the shop. They also involve Wathsala for the day to day chores at the shop.
"I help my mother to cook", says Wathsala with a joyful smile. Shamali hopes that one day Wathsala will be able to care of herself. "Wathsala likes to cook, when I'm cooking she comes and helps me by cutting tomatoes and onions", says Shamali. Specialists have informed Shamali that Wathsala's condition will improve with her age. Shamali mentioned that "Wathsala's condition has improved a lot in comparison to previous years".
They are optimistic about the future and believe that they can maintain the shop for years to come. "Our future plans for the shop is to get electricity and a fridge so that we can provide some cool drinks to our customers", said Shamali. She also mentioned that improving the shop provides a great deal of hope for the future of Wathsala and that they are hoping to save some money and open a bank account for her to use in the future.
By - Avishka Sendanayake
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