Country of the Month: Sri Lanka

LK-005-Sri-Lanka-Nallathanniya-Village-14-02-PHOTO-2-of-2Lansantha and Sandanam’s Dream Come True

Our GHNI National Field Leader writes, “Lansantha and her husband, Sandanam, are residents of Nallathanniya. Their love bloomed to a marriage. They have three children of the ages 12, 11, and 2.

“When we first visited them, we were surprised to hear of their humble beginnings. They had a small hut covered with tarred sheet roof leaking in many places. They had only a few food items for sale. The average income per day was Rs.300 (about $3).

“As days went by, they found it difficult to support the children with their school books, clothing, and food. The hut was impossible to live in during the rainy season so they decided with the little savings they had to build a market with a good roof to protect them from the rain and attract customers. However as the work was in progress, they were short of money and unable to complete the market, make homemade eatables, and purchase other picketed products for sale.

“They tell us that they came to know about the GHNI micro-financing program through other villagers. They applied for a loan which they received speedily.

“They were proud to show us their completed market with various items on sale. Sandanam tells me that as the shop has a beautiful appearance, his sales have shot up from Rs.300 to Rs.600 ($3 to $6).

“He tells me that he expects to increase his sales to Rs.1,000 ($8) a day which will be sufficient to provide for the whole family and save for a rainy day. He tells me that this was made possible because of GHNI who gave him a helping hand when most needed. He wishes GHNI and all those concerned long life. He wants GHNI to carry out the micro-financing program as this will help other villagers of Nallathanniya.”

Committees Staying Busy

“The Committee reported that the micro-financing loans work well. The loans pay-back monthly collection fund was used to give loans to another four village families. The committee requested that those who take loans pay the monthly loan installment on or before the 12th of each month to make the loan collection easier.

“The Education Committee requested that we start a tutoring class for the primary students. The committee was asked to forward proposals to include payment for teachers for the number of days the tutoring class will be held, the subjects that will be taught, and the number of teachers who will be involved in the teaching.

“We also spoke about human trafficking. The parents were requested to arrange a date and time and then come with their daughters so that we can make them aware of human trafficking and the dangers.”

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