Keeping families together amid Sri Lanka’s economic recovery
UNICEF’s support to vulnerable families prevents children from being placed in institutional care
Sumithra (38) and her family live in a small stick-and-mud one-room hut in Viharamahadevi, Kataragama, in Sri Lanka’s Uva Province. As a mother of three sons, aged 16, 13, and 7, making ends meet is a daily struggle given her husband’s meagre income. She herself is unable to find work as she is uneducated, having barely completed grade one of primary school.
Today, she is hurrying back home after picking her youngest son, Pubudu, from school, so that she can cook jackfruit – a local superfood, she got free from a kind neighbour. Preparing and cooking a tender jackfruit takes a little extra time. But this is a welcome change in their afternoon meal and her three children don’t mind waiting a little bit longer for their second meal and possibly their last meal for the day.
“We can no longer afford the luxury of three meals a day; I now cook only in the mornings, often it’s rice and two vegetables curries, and we eat the leftovers later in the day as our second meal. Occasionally, when we can afford it, I try to buy another vegetable or if I am lucky, my neighbour gives me some leafy greens from their garden.”
Sumithra chats away as she cooks. Unlike his older siblings, Pubudu is quiet. He is still very attached to his mother and waits by her side as she cooks.
“Our monthly income is about LKR 30,000 (USD 95); unlike before, my husband finds work for only 10 -12 days a month.” Her husband, Suresh (38), a day-wage labourer has been struggling to find work since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in early 2020 - a struggle now compounded by the country’s economic crisis.
Sri Lanka’s acute economic crisis has disrupted the livelihoods of many and reduced household incomes across the country, limiting access to essentials such as food and medicines. The effects of which are bearing strongly on the most vulnerable families who are struggling to find livelihoods and pay their debts. Unable to cope, some are looking to institutional care for their children as they can no longer afford to feed or educate them.
As a part of UNICEF’s emergency response in the country, support was provided to the Department of Probation and Child Care, Uva Province, to assist families most affected by the economic crisis and prevent the placement of children in institutional care. 130 families faced with extreme vulnerabilities were provided with dry food rations for a period of three months, underpinned by positive parenting advice and regular follow-ups by local social services. This immediate lifeline aims to minimize the vulnerabilities and increase the families’ capacities to overcome the pressure to place their children into alternative care.
“The dry-ration pack made a big difference in what I could provide for my family. It included essentials such as rice, dhal, sugar, milk powder and spices. This meant that my children did not have to go to school hungry.”
Little Pubudu has now finished his lunch of rice and the freshly cooked tender jackfruit. “I love going to school.” Pubudu’s schooling had been delayed by a year due to the pandemic. “I like all the subjects. But art is my favourite.” He reaches for his mother to help find his art book to show us his drawings.
“Pubudu has just started school and having this support meant that we could afford to provide for his schooling. I am also happy that my children did not have to go to school hungry.”
