Juchrista wakes early to finish her house chores and take her little daughter to school. Life has not been easy for her since her husband died due to a shell attack during the ethnic war that ravaged their peaceful little village. Now that she has more responsibilities thrust upon her, Juchrista stitches clothes as a livelihood and grows vegetables in her garden to give her child a nutritious meal. Nevertheless, she was finding it very difficult to provide for her daughter's educational needs, and this was Juchrista's greatest worry.
Juchrista's workload increased when she joined the Theravil Vulnerable Persons' Livelihood Promotable Society (TVPLPS) - a community livelihood project society initiated by the ADT. As the Treasurer of this society, Juchrista had to attend several training meetings, and she was thereafter involved in securing a building that would become a community poultry farm. Her responsibilities have only increased now that the poultry farm is functioning smoothly. Following her responsibilities as Treasurer, Juchrista works daily on the accounts ledger in a small office situated near the community poultry farm. She often runs over to the farm to feed the chickens, even though it might not be her day on the roster. "I wake up early morning, attend to my housework, take my daughter to school and come to the office at 8.00 a.m.", explained Juchrista. "I leave at 12 to pick my daughter from school, and then I return to the office and work till 7.00 p.m."
Juchrista is happy to contribute her time to the community poultry farm. A total of 35 persons comprising widows, disabled persons, and others affected by the war work on a roster to feed the chicken, refill their water containers, and clean the cages. They share among themselves the profit incurred from the sale of meat and eggs. "Our first salary was LKR 2500", recalled Juchrista. "The following 02 months, we earned LKR 3000 and thereafter, we earned LKR 3500. As our earnings increase, we will soon be able to save money for our children's education!" Juchrista is very enthusiastic about the development taking place in their tiny village. Even though they still do not have an electricity supply, the people of Theravil have joined hands with the ADT in the name of improved living standards. They have already laid out plans for new future projects. "We plan on working on a banana plantation and a vegetable plot too", shared Juchrista with a beaming smile and a hope for a better tomorrow.