Coming back to life

Rathi (28) lives in Faisal Nagar, Kinniya in the Trincomalee district with her daughter. She has gone through a lot of hardship in her life from her childhood days. She was displaced by the ethnic conflict, and lived in a refugee camp, lost all her belongings and family members to the 2004 tsunami. Further, her husband also passed away due to kidney failure about a year ago.

After her husband’s demise, she and her 2-year-old daughter lived dependent on her parents and only thoughts of her daughter kept her going. Rathi was identified by BDS for livelihood assistance in 2013. BDS provided her with goods worth of Rs. 31,665 to commence a grocery shop at the comfort of her home. This assistance gave Rathi new hope and she worked hard to expand her business and to generate new customers and now, her grocery is very much in demand among her village. At present, she earns a monthly profit between Rs. 6,000 to 8,000 from the grocery shop.