Through the Struggles of Life, Arani Dares to Dream
Six months ago, her father left the family. Arani, 11, now lives with her mother, two sisters and a brother in Kalvilan village, Changanai – North of Sri Lanka.
Her mother, Naguleswari, 43, was was left to care for her children all by herself. She found work as a labourer in the paddy fields during the cultivation season and at other times she makes chilli powder at home to sell at the village shop. Her children are her source of strength and have been with her through very trying times.
“It’s not easy to provide for my children with the little I earn," she says.
While Nitharshini, 19, Arani’s older sister has persisted with her education her brother Mithurshan, 15, started losing interest in going to school.
Every day that goes by is a struggle. The house they live in is incomplete. The girls divide household chores among themselves and put in every effort to lend a helping hand to their mother.
The daily wage she receives from labour work is hardly enough to put food on the table every day.
At times when a sudden extra expense such as medication or children’s educational needs have to be met Naguleswari is forced to take a loan. The repayment scheme is a sacrifice as they save up from what they would have to spend on meals to be free of the debt.
The lack of clean water is another concern for Arani’s family. Children especially girls are at risk walking the roads by themselves at odd hours of the day to fetch water. Yet, they have no choice but to walk to the well located about a kilometer away to collect water and still the water they get is not clean.
During drought season the wells dry up and they have to walk further away to a private well. At times they have to continue their walk far distances in search of a well as the owner of the well does not allow them to draw water all the time.
“I am looking forward to working with World Vision and am happy that Arani is now registered in their programme. It would be a great support if we had a well of our own. It will also be safer for the children,” says Naguleswari.
While the needs of her family are great, Arani is not afraid to dream big.
“I want to study hard and become a doctor one day so that I can look after my mother well and also help the people in my village,” she says.
A note about the Area Development Programmes:
As a distinctive feature of our approach we select the most underdeveloped and poorest regions in the country and establish Area Development Programmes (ADPs) at these locations. World Vision’s 43 development programmes operate in over 1400 villages in 20 Districts spread across Sri Lanka.
These ADPs serve the communities by helping them to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate programmes in an interdependent relationship with local governments and other stakeholders. World Vision also helps and educates local leaders to take ownership of projects, providing technical support, funding and expertise.
World Vision helps these communities develop by providing them better access to education, economic development, health and nutrition, and water and sanitation; the ADPs four key capacity building sectors. Crosscutting themes of gender, environment, disaster risk reduction, disability, HIV and AIDS, child protection, conflict sensitivity, and governance are intentionally interwoven into the programmes to enhance their effectiveness and add value.