The Project Hope staff have been busy this week meeting more families affected by Sri Lanka’s flooding. This flooding is the worst since the tsunami, and many families we have met have been talking about how this flooding brings back memories of the tsunami destroying their homes, and bringing back fear of the water…
I met Diltha on a Tuesday morning while her children were at school. She showed me the damage the flood had done to the roof of her house. We talked about how destructive the water had been across the South of the Island; Diltha was lucky enough to be able to stay in her house with her children, despite the leaking roof damaging a lot of their possessions.
Diltha’s roof full of cracks after heavy flooding
But Diltha is an inspirational woman! At 35, she has a son and a daughter, who are 9 and 4 years old. After her husband left her, she moved back to live with her mother and father in a small 2 room house in the south of Sri Lanka. She used to rely on her husband for money and was left hopeless when he disappeared. However, luckily, she found Project Hope and asked them for help.
Through Project Hope, Diltha has learnt how to make and sell incense. From this small income, she has enough money to buy essentials for her children, such as school books and shoes. But Diltha is determined, and with the support of Project Hope, she is not stopping there!
Diltha is the chairperson of Project Hope’s first women’s savings group. I had met her before at our office when she came to give an update on their progress. Each week, the women deposit 100Rs (about 50p) into a shared savings account, so overall each month they give 400Rs. Now, between 6 women they are up to 7,200Rs. After six months, this money can be taken as a loan by any women with the approval of all other women in the group. The women are strict too! If they miss a meeting, turn up late or give in their money late they are fined 20Rs. For late fees, this goes up every day. But by working together, these women can use the money to make a difference in their lives.
Speaking at a savings group meeting at Project Hope Office!
Diltha is determined to support her family. When offered the chance to learn to drive a tuk tuk and make a living, she jumped at the chance, and has now finished her training! Her father is also a tuk tuk driver, so she takes every opportunity to practice. She told me, ‘to begin with, i was very scared of driving. Now it’s easy and i can’t wait to start!’
Showing us her tuk tuk skills with her teacher in the back!
She demonstrated her impressive driving skills to me before i said goodbye. These women are hardworking and determined. Diltha has managed to support herself since her husband left. In most cases, faced with no options and no way to support them, she would give her children up to a local orphanage. Luckily Project Hope were there to support Diltha. Now, she acts as a role model for other women in her savings group! We want to support Diltha to fix her roof, so her children don’t have to lose their school books every time it rains!
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