K Puspamani is a resident of the Kumburumoolai village in Koralaipattu North, Batticaloa. Kumburumoolai is one of many regions in Batticaloa that has been in the war front. Few years ago Pushpamani lost her farm due to the conflicts and all her house equipment were stolen as well. Due to the volatile situation in Kumburumoolai she and her family were displaced to Valaichchenai, where they lived as refugees, without food or clothing. After returning to their home in Kumburumoolai, Pushpamani and her family had to rebuild their lives from scratch.
Pushpamani’s family consists of 8 people other than herself. Her husband, though a laborer was not able to earn enough money to help run their family. “My 4 daughters are all of marriageable age, but I don’t have enough wealth to give them each a dowry, as is done in my culture. It is so difficult to arrange a wedding under these circumstances” says Pushpamani with a heavy heart. She also has 3 sons who are still schooling. Her sons study under extreme difficulties due to the financial situation they are currently facing. “My sons need a lot of money for their education, especially for private (extra) classes and stationeries. They need to go for private classes but we don’t have enough money to pay their class fees” says Pushpamani. Managing on their very meager daily income has proved too much to handle as their earnings do not suffice to match the needs of her family. (Their needs vary from food, clothes, school books, stationeries and house hold items). With the aid given to her by ADT, Pushpamani produces broom sticks from coconut choir and sells them in her shop. She currently earns around Rs. 1500 profit from her small home industry.
