I live at home with my parents, my older sister and two older brothers. None of us are married. I’m the baby. My parents are both field workers. One of my brothers is an electrician, and my older sister stays at home cooking.

Because of no money, I had to drop out of school after 7th Standard and go to work. I worked in a cardamom sorting shed for four years and then was invited to join Blue Mango by some friends.

At first my parents weren’t too happy with my wages. I explained to them that I was just a trainee and that I had the potential to earn a lot more. Now that I am making good money, my parents tell me that joining Blue Mango was a good decision.

I like Blue Mango because I am happy here and have good friends. I want to work here for a long time. All of my three siblings have to get married before I can. As for dowry, it depends on how much we’re earning together in the family. So far there are no dowry savings which scares me. I worry about what kind of man they will arrange for me to marry.

I can’t compare Blue Mango to any other working place. This is my first job. All I know is that at Blue Mango, you feel loved.

Note:
Amutha was just married. She comes from a very poor family, and dowry was a big issue. Somehow, the family found a decent man who was willing to marry her for only 1 pound, which equals about 5 months earnings. This is seen as an almost “dowry free marriage.” Usually dowry starts at 4 pounds.

He was willing to marry her before she could pay the amount from her pension. Rajakumari says “I think that he will let her keep her retirement money in the end.” We’ll see and hope!

The women in Blue Mango took up a collection and in less than 10 minutes had put together enough money to purchase pots and pans for Amutha’s household use. This is also seen as part of dowry responsibility. People in the community said “Wow. Not bad. Blue Mango is like a family.”

Amutha came back to visit, very nostalgic, but seemingly happy. Her husband runs a shop in Kerala, is stable and kind. She laughs about having to wash the underwear of her mother in law, but all in all, “she isn’t too bad”. Amutha always had a good sense of humor. We wish her the very best.

I grew up in this area and have 3 younger brothers, 3 older brothers, and 3 older sisters. Our parents died when we were quite young and our grandmother came to stay with us until she died. Then we cared for ourselves. I studied until the 8th Standard.

I got married when I was 19. It was an arranged marriage. My husband is in business. He’s a wholesaler but is not earning money now and stays at home. I‘m the sole wage earner right now.

Before I came to Blue Mango I worked, in the cardamom estates. I found out about Blue Mango from Rajakumari. I didn’t catch on to the stitching so they put me into the beading. I really love the hand work.

I like it here because I was really depressed at home before but since I’ve come here I’m really happy. I hope that Blue Mango will get many more orders and that we will keep going and grow. I am also happy to be the Beading Supervisor now, although at times it is very stressful.

I grew up in Kerala in the extended family home. I was the last in a line of nine children and my parents didn’t have the funds to send me beyond 10th Standard. Besides, my brother had four children and I had to stay home and take care of them.

I had a love marriage with no dowry. I don’t like the dowry system. If you have a love marriage and like each other then you can have a lifetime of happiness. I’m teaching my boys not to consider dowry when choosing a wife.

My husband works in Kerala for Catholic Relief Agency. Women aren’t allowed on the campus where he lives, so we live apart and he visits me once a month. My problem wasn’t so much a lack of money, as lack of friends. After the children left home, I became lonely and depressed. Because I didn’t want to get a bad reputation, I never left the house. I never rode a bus. I had no self confidence. Rajakumari invited me to join Blue Mango. I am the one that Tamar sends to Madurai for mailing parcels. Now I go to Madras on my own. My two sons are so proud of me. Blue Mango has a reputation as a safe haven for women, and it is here that I have found friendships and self confidence.

I grew up in Bodi. My father is a sign artist and my mother stays at home. I have two older brothers, one of whom is married. The other lives at home and is a sign artist like my father. I also have one younger brother and sister. I went to school until the 9th Standard but I didn’t like school and didn’t want to go on. After I left school, I stayed at home until I came to work at Blue Mango.

I’ve had many marriage offers but my family has accepted none of them. They asked for too much dowry. Now I’m engaged to a man from Bangalore. This man is a relative of ours and my uncle has laid down the law and said I need to marry him. My dowry is 10 pounds of gold (Rs 120,000). I don’t know when the marriage will take place. I have to get married quickly as my older brother needs to get married and they have to get me married off first. After I’m married, I’ll just be at home since my future husband is company manager in Bangalore. I’m going to have a lot of sad feelings when I leave Blue Mango.

Note:
For some reason, this marriage didn’t work out. Muthukani is now married to a local man who won’t let her return to work
even though she wants to.

When I was in the 5th Standard, my father died. After I finished the 10th Standard we didn’t have the money for me to continue school. I have two older brothers and two older sisters. Three of them are married. My oldest brother doesn’t take care of my mother like he should.

I used to work at the match box factory. It was dangerous work. There was always a danger of explosions. The salary was good but there were bad working conditions.

Our family has known Rajakumari for a long time. She approached my younger brother and invited me to work at Blue Mango. I like it here at Blue Mango. There is nothing I would do differently. It’s really important to get good orders. No orders means no work. I like being able to help my younger brother support the family.

I don’t have any free time for myself. I get up early before coming to work to help with the cooking and when I come home at night I do other household chores. I have no complaints about this. What else am I to do?

My older brother will arrange my marriage someday. Dowry is hard. One man came to the house and asked for 10 pouns of gold (Rs. 120,000) but that was too high so they dropped it. In the meantime, I continue to work and support my family.

I grew up near Madurai. Both of my parents do daily wage work. I have one older brother and one younger brother. I went to school through the 10th Standard.

I was married at 16. It was an arranged marriage. We paid a lot of dowry but then my husband drank it all. He‘s a waste. He drinks all the time and shakes a lot. I’m pretty much supporting the family. We have two boys ages 5 and 7 and one girl age 3. When my husband does work, he drinks part of the money but thankfully gives some towards running the household. He works as a bathroom cleaner. I don’t fight with my husband but I do fight with my mother in law. We live in her house.

I first worked at the Trust in the sangams and then came here. I like Blue Mango because I can leave my worries at home. Here, I have a chance to do really nice work.

I have two mothers and two fathers. My birth parents are different from the ones who raised me. When I was 15 days old, my birth parents gave me up. My birth mother had a hard time giving me up but they were too poor to care for me. They gave me to the family next door. My birth mother is a coolie and my birth father can’t work since he has shriveled up legs.

I went back and forth between the two households as I was growing up. My adoptive parents were both teachers and they are now retired. I have four older birth sisters and two older birth brothers. They’re all married. I am the youngest. In my adoptive family, I have an older brother and sister. My adoptive sister was married, but now she’s divorced and living back with the family. I feel like my adoptive parents treated me differently than their own children, but they do love me. Their relatives ostracized them since they were raising me, and that was hard on them.

Between the two households there’s some dissention and that causes me a lot of pain. When there are problems, it’s me that’s affected. I’m now staying with my birth parents because of the conflicts. I want to get married and am looking for a husband, but I want to keep working at Blue Mango after I get married.

I came here to Blue Mango right after I finished high school and started here at the very beginning. It was hard at first working in the small space. Learning to stitch was difficult, especially with the strict quality control.

My self-esteem has gone way up since I’ve been here. I really like the goals of the program – to help the handicapped, women with HIV and deserted women. I see how much Tamar madam gives and I myself get a lot of meaning in my life by working here. That’s why when I work overtime, I never ask for extra money. In this way I give back to the program.

It is peaceful at Blue Mango and you can forget your problems. Everyone is kind here and I feel like I have many sisters here.

I grew up in this area. I have one older brother. I got married right away out of school when I was 14 years old. He was my relative and it was a love marriage. I was 15 years old when my first baby was born. Now as I look back,I feel upset that I married so young, especially since I had to leave school. We have two daughters ages 5 and 8. My daughters will be over 20 when they get married.

My husband first worked at Renuga Mills where he received training as an electrician. Then he moved to Malaysia and worked for three years, but never sent us any money. Now he is back and is drunk half of the time and is very abusive. When he’s not drinking, he helps my father who is an electrician.

I had no previous work before I came to Blue Mango. When I first came I was scared. Everyone was really kind to me. I didn’t like sewing, so they put me in beading. I was the third person to learn beading and now I help whenever we design new products. Blue Mango also allowed me to go back to school part- time to further my education.

I grew up in Kerala and have no brothers or sisters. My parents gave me for marriage when I was 16 years old. Because my husband was my mother’s younger brother, we didn’t have to pay dowry. I worked in the spice estates in Kerala.

My husband had some sort of mental disease. He would keep saying, I want to die, I want to die.” After we had been married for 8 years, he committed suicide by drinking poison. I then moved to Bodi to live with my parents. My mother is old now and has diabetes. My father does day labor. At first I had no work, but then Kanchana’s family told us about Blue Mango and I joined.

I have good friends here at Blue Mango. There is nice protection here and they teach us well. Now I’m a really good at sewing and shibori. Because I speak English, I’m being trained in computer and I find this really exciting.

When I was little, my parents separated and disappeared, so I didn’t have a mom and dad. My aunt and uncle took care of me. My aunt and uncle had 3 children, 2 boys and a girl so together we were 4 children in the house. After I finished the 8th Standard, there wasn’t any more money for me to go to school. I got married at age 17. My husband agreed that a dowry wasn’t necessary as I had no parents.

Seven years ago there was a fight, and my husband was killed. I was pregnant with my son at the time. Before his death, he worked in a rice shop. After he died, I took care of his mother and earned money stitching blouse pieces. Now I live by myself with my two children.

My daughter has some sort of skin disease and I’m sure she won’t get married. She’s weak and gets white patches on her skin. Other than that, she’s smart and first in her class. God will decide if I can get my daughter married or not. My son is studying well in the 2nd Standard.

I was invited to work at Blue Mango by my neighbor. At home there’s so much stress. Here, I can relax and forget my problems.

I plan to stay for a long time here since it’s my responsibility to take care of my kids. I think it’s important to cooperate with each other at Blue Mango. Then our program will improve and we will get good orders.

I went to school until the 8th Standard and got married when I was 18. My dowry was 5 pouns gold (Rs. 60,000) and no cash. This wasn’t a problem since my husband was a relative. He was a mason and I worked sorting cardamom.

After 3 years, my husband had a serious fight with his father, took poison, and killed himself. Four months later my six month old baby girl died. Shortly after moving home with my parents, my father died. I give half of my salary to my parents. The other half I put into a revolving savings fund that I have with some friends. Every month one of us gets the entire amount.

Before my husband died he took out Rs 15,000 loan from an acquaintance and now I have to pay back that loan. I’ve given Rs 4,000 so far, but it is very difficult to come up with the money. Since coming here and having steady work, I feel more hopeful that the loan will be paid off.

I found out about Blue Mango from Selvi. Now I’m working in dyeing. I like it better than stitching. Chris madam gave us such incredible training and it is like a whole new business in Blue Mango. We’re getting a lot of new designs and I enjoy that. I really love doing the dyeing and shibori work.

Since I’ve come here I feel better emotionally. I can forget some of my worries with my friends.

I was married for a year and my husband left me for another woman. It was a love marriage and so there was no dowry. I have one son who is three years old. My son and I live with my mother and father now. I help my mother with the household work.

My father watches cows for another farmer and my mother does kitchen work for the same farmer. Sometimes after work, I help her with her job. I am the oldest. I have one sister who is married and two brothers who work at the mills.

I’ve only been to 1st grade, but I can read and write a little.

Viramani who works here told me about Blue Mango. I’m happy to have this job. I am now the assistant cook and sometimes I take care of the Blue Mango children. Kuttirani, Nageswari, and Uma are my friends. I want to work here for long term so that I can raise my child with my earnings.

I was married and have two children. We moved to Bodi when my husband couldn't pay the rent in the city any longer. He had lost his job due to alcoholism and I stayed at home. In our culture, women don't venture out much and I felt vulnerable and isolated. There were days that we had nothing to feed the children. We resorted to borrowing money from moneylenders at exorbitant interest rates and started selling off our personal items one by one.

Life started changing when I joined the women’s sangam through AHM Trust. I took training in income generation, women’s empowerment, and learned more about standing on my own feet.

I took out a loan through the sangam and started my own business grinding spices for masala. At the time, I was the sole wage earner. When Blue Mango started in a tiny shed on the AHM Trust compound, I was one of the first 5 women to join. After some time, the program expanded to the point where the Supervisor needed help and I was offered the position of Assistant Supervisor. When Josephine left in 2005, I became the Supervisor. Although the job is stimulating, I often feel overwhelmed by the responsibility of running a program of 65 women.

I like to set myself as an example, telling the new women how Blue Mango has changed my life. Because of my story, new women immediately learn that Blue Mango is not a charity, but a place where women develop financial strength and pride through perseverance and hard work.

My name is Selvi. I am 38 years old. I have only been with Blue Mango for 6 days but am happy to give my story. You can use my name.

I am from Kerala. I am the second wife of my husband. His first wife died after they had three boys together. We are 28 years apart. I was so stupid to agree to marry him. His children were very young, and of course it was assumed that I would raise them. I grew to love them as my own. In addition we had two more children together. Again boys. So I see myself as being a mother of five male children.

Now my husband lives with his first children. They want nothing to do with me. He gives me no child support, and when he does come home, he forces money from me, goes into town and gets drunk.

I was literally starving before Blue Mango. I like it here so far and hope that it works out.

I was 22 when I got married and my husband died six years later. He was a flower seller and hadn’t been well for many years. He told me it was because a snake had bitten him. Only after his death and I tested positive for AIDS did I realize that he had died of AIDS. I have two daughters ages, both teen-agers. The older one doesn’t have AIDS but the younger one does.

I’m a Christian and my husband was a Hindu. That made it hard on the marriage. My parents chose him for me even though he was a Hindu because he was the only one who came forward. Only after my first child did I find out that my husband was already married to another woman. This was a big shock.

My father was a road inspector in the Highway Department. He died soon after my marriage was arranged. My mother recently died. I have one younger sister who has high blood pressure, one older brother, and three younger brothers.

My daughters and I live with my two younger brothers. One of them is an artist and the other one works in a jewelry store.

I’ve been active in the women’s sangams. One day Tamar came and spoke to the AIDS group about Blue Mango and the next day, Muthulakshmi and I joined. We were the first with AIDS to join Blue Mango.

I love Blue Mango. I get a lot of support here and my children get support through the Trust. I believe in having a positive attitude towards life. That’s how it is at home too. Even when I was really small there was a lot of laughter in the household. We’ve always been a really happy family. I get a lot of support from my two younger brothers and they love their daughters like their own. I don’t own anything but what’s important is general happiness in life.

I often think about which of us will die first, me or my daughter. She is a teenager now and she cries about the fact that no one will ever marry her, even if she lives long enough to grow up. At least at Blue Mango, I can laugh with my friends and temporarily forget my worries. Blue Mango is family to me.

I was the only girl in the family with two younger brothers. My parents were both farmers. After I finished 8th Standard at a local school, my family didn’t want to send me to high school because it was 5 km away.

My dowry was Rs. 5000 and 10 pounds (Rs 120,000) of gold (bought as jewelry). At that point it wasn’t too hard since my father was successful. Now it would be a different story as my parents have had so many loans, they had to sell their farm.

My husband works in a bank. Before we were doing well, but then he came down with HIV. We went into debt seeking treatment for him. My parents helped some and I sold all of my gold. Finally, he went to the clinic at AHM Trust and is getting help there.

After my husband got sick I realized I needed to get a job. It was at a support group for AIDS at AHM Trust that I heard about Blue Mango and they invited me to apply. My family is happy that I’m working here. I’ve been here now for 3 years. I want to work at Blue Mango for a long time because my sorrows are lessened here. Blue Mango is like a family. I have hopes that Blue Mango will grow and grow.

Now I have AIDS, and thankfully, my two children are not HIV positive. I worry for my children, how they will grow up without my husband and me. Between my husband and I there are no bad feelings about it all. I never had these anger kinds of feelings toward him. We’re really happy together. I’ve never felt discriminated against at Blue Mango, within my family or in my community.

When I compare Blue Mango to other mills in the area, the quality here is really high. Anybody can work in a mill, but here, you have to have real talent.

I was born and raised in Bodi. My mother worked sorting cardamom and my dad worked as a farmer. My two daughters and I live with my parents. They still work and we all share expenses. My younger sister is in college in Madras.

I stopped going to school after 10th Standard due to lack of money. I had a desire for my younger siblings to get a good education so I left school and went to work. First I went to tailoring school, then to sorting cardamom.

I was 17 years old when I got married. My husband had a rice shop. After 5 years of marriage, he died from AIDS. Now I have AIDS too, but my daughters were spared. For this, I say ‘Thank you’ to God every day.

I found out about Blue Mango in an AIDS support group at AHM Trust. My mother in law gave me a lot of problems at that time and coming to Blue Mango was a nice escape. I love the work here. People ask how me how my emotional life is and that’s so nice.

My baby girl died at three months of age. My son is twelve now. First my mother died, then one month later my girl died, and then three months later my husband died. Now I’m the only one left to take care of the family. Everything - the good and bad is left on my shoulders.

I was married for thirteen years. My husband was a carpenter. He was a relative and it was an arranged marriage. He died of AIDS nine years ago. My son was three years old then and we had a new baby daughter. My husband never knew he had AIDS. We found out after his death when I got sick and tested positive at the clinic. I don’t know what my daughter died from. My son was tested too but he doesn’t have it. It makes me feel really awful – having AIDS.

I refused to go to school after 4th Standard. Now I wish I had. My son is in 4th now and he will continue to go to school.

I worked parceling cardamom for five years. It was a big government institution and I often fell sick. When I went to the AHM Trust Clinic, Dr. Bruce suggested I come to work at Blue Mango. Later, I got my hearing impaired sister, Annalakshmi, to work here too.

I like it here. I started in sewing and then changed to beading. Here I can forget the worries of my home and be happy. My earnings allow me to raise my son and give him a good education. I can also help my deaf sister get married.

When I was just a little girl my parents both died. It was my auntie who raised us. I had one older sister and one younger sister. Now one is in Dindigul and one is in Theni.

I finished 8th Standard and then got married. We went to Tiripur where I did stitching in the clothing mills and my husband did embroidery. We had a son. My husband wasn’t well for two years and then he died. It was AIDS. After that, because I wasn’t feeling well that I came back here to Bodi to be with near my family.

Both my son and I are HIV positive. My son and I live alone. I stayed at home for a while because he was in so much pain, he couldn’t even walk due to severe rheumatoid arthritis. My son is getting treatment at AHM Trust clinic and is able to go to school now. A doctor at the clinic recommended Blue Mango to me.

All of my relatives know that I’m HIV positive and they give me emotional support. Before he died, my husband told me he didn’t know he had AIDS when we got married. He felt really horrible that my son and I got the disease because of him. We’re under good medical care at the AHM Trust clinic.

It’s peaceful working here. I started in sewing and then changed to beading. My self-esteem has gone up since I’ve been able to earn money for myself. Although I still have many worries about the future, I have people who care about me here.

Annalakshmi is hearing impaired. Her sister Tamil Selvi who also works in Blue Mango translated for us.

We live in a rented house in Bodi with our father. One brother lives and works in Kerala in the cardamom estates. Our other brother was married but he deserted his wife and son and came back to live with us. He drinks all of the time and is good for nothing. Our father is really old.

I was deaf since birth and managed to learn to read and write in regular school. I studied through 8th Standard and had to drop out because of no money. I worked sorting cardamom for 4 years before joining Blue Mango. I like it here.

I really want to get married, but no one will consider me because I’m hearing impaired and don’t have a dowry.

(Annama is mentally challenged)

When I was really little my mother and father died. I don’t have any brothers or sisters.
I was raised at RTU (Reaching The Unreached – a village for widows and orphans).
I was happy at RTU and was close to my foster mother.
Now I live at RUADT (a home for physically and mentally handicapped people across the street from Blue Mango).

I like Blue Mango because when I see everyone every day I’m happy. I’m really interested in the work I do. I like everything about Blue Mango.

I’ve done three things in Blue Mango. I did coasters and beaded curtains and now I’m doing bracelets. I’m improving.

I have been visually impaired since birth. After my parents died, a neighbour helped me out. She worked in a kitchen and brought home leftovers for me. My brother has been torturing me about inheriting the family home, and I finally got scared enough and moved out. The custom is that since he preformed the cremation ceremony for our father, that all property goes to him. I don’t know what the laws are. So, after my sister’s husband died, I moved in with her, but she doesn’t feed me. She also makes me sleep outside on a cot. Another neighbour heard that Blue Mango provides noon meals, so she brought me in. Until coming to Blue Mango, I often went hungry. I will work hard and try to earn good money.

I was born a midget. It was when I turned 5 and stopped growing that they realized it. My dad sent me to the doctor for injections for five thousand rupees to make me grow, but it didn’t work. My brothers and sisters are all nice and tall. In spite of this, I had a nice childhood. I just didn’t listen when kids teased me.

Now I live in my grandmother’s house near Theni. Ten of us live together as an extended family. Since there are only two rooms, some of us sleep in beds outside. My father died five years ago. My mother works in the fields, takes care of our three goats, and does housework.

I studied through the 10th standard. Before I came to Blue Mango I did some Book keeping with the Women’s Sangam and also acted in street theatre.

I really, really like it here at Blue Mango. I’m going to work here for many, many years. I don’t think I’ll get married. That’s not mydestiny.

My name is Manimehala. I am 35 years old and unmarried. I live in a rented one-room house with my father, mother, sister and her infant child. My mother does coolie work. She is skinny like me. When we were children, she used to feed us first, and just take a cup of tea for herself. She still mostly drinks tea. My father doesn’t work, he just sits around. I think that he is lazy, but on the other hand, he gives me much affection.

I grew up with one younger brother and one younger sister. When we were little, my parents went to Kerala searching for work, and entrusted us to my mother’s brother’s care. It was assumed that I would marry this uncle when I came of age.

The money that my parents sent for food wasn’t enough. We were always hungry. I got sick with fever. Then I developed a spastic hand problem. We all came to the conclusion that this uncle should marry someone else. I was fine with this decision. Why waste the dowry money on me? After all, I am disabled.

Then, my younger sister had the chance to get married. She became jealous and told me that I had to stay clear of her husband. She became pregnant right away and then four months into the pregnancy, her husband kicked her out. Now she is back with us. She had a baby boy, but her husband has completely deserted her. He stole all of her dowry … gold jewellery, pots and pans … everything. We went to the police, but they just told her to get a divorce. That won’t solve anything.

Before Blue Mango, I never dreamed that I could earn money. Look at me now! I give my pay check to my parents, and between my mother’s and my earnings, we can purchase enough food to feed us all.

What I like is that I am not so vulnerable anymore. I can stand on my own two feet. Now that Blue Mango has started pension and savings, I know that I won’t have to depend on anyone in the future. My parents support the savings scheme even though it means less money to the extended family. They say, “We won’t be around forever.”

When I was twelve, I became disabled because of a bus accident. My right arm was broken and half the muscles, bones, and skin torn off. I was admitted in the Government Hospital in Madurai for many months and finally came home. My father ran off with all of the insurance money, abandoning me and my mother, so I could never get my arm fixed properly. The remaining bone in the center of my right arm never healed and my arm was puffy and floppy. You don’t know how embarrassing it is when people see that I have to eat with my left hand.

I joined Blue Mango and work in the beading department. Now I can help support my mother. Dr. Bruce found funding from American friends who were visiting. I went to an excellent orthopaedic surgeon in Madurai and had my arm repaired. Although the result was not perfect, I can now use my right arm. I feel more confident and normal. My mother and I insisted on paying part of the cost of the surgery. By helping me in this way, Dr. Bruce was like the father that I never had.

I grew up in Bodi. My mother died two years ago and my father died six years ago.They both used to work as daily laborers. I have one older brother. He’s married with two children – one son and one daughter.

When I was two years old I fell and hurt my foot. Since then I haven’t been able to walk properly. I studied until 9th Standard and then worked for a little while with another relative in a shop until he died. Then I sorted cardamom for 5 years.

After my parents died, there were property disputes between me and my brother. I went to police, but nothing ever happened and I never did get any inheritance. I tried to live with my brother in our family home after my parents died but he forced me to give all my earnings to him and tried to completely control me financially. Because of this, I moved out and now live with my aunt’s daughter in Bodi. I help with the household bills but have control over my own money.

I found out about Blue Mango from RUADT across the street. I really like it here. I see myself staying here for a long time. I don’t want to get married. I just don’t.

I am hearing impaired and live at home and have three younger sisters. All three are married and one younger brother. My mother works as a coolie and my father is sickly and can’t work. I am afraid to get married because I’m hearing impaired and my husband might abandon me. Kuttirani, who works here at Blue Mango, has found a man for me that is interested but I don’t want to go ahead with it. Who will watch over my mother and father?

After I left school, I worked at sorting cardamom. The cardamom dust always gave me a sore throat. Viramani told me about Blue Mango and that’s how I came here.

Because of my work here at Blue Mango, the family was able marry off my three sisters. I am basically the wage earner for the whole family and don’t use any of my money for myself.

Note:
Surliamma’s father just died. She is encouraged to put as much money into savings as possible so that she has financial security in her later years.

My father never acted like he was a father. He was always out. He used to eat at the bus stands. He never would come home. His job was irrigating farms. He sometimes gave some money to help raise the family. My mother had asthma and stayed at home. She died 10 years ago.

I was fine until I was five. After that, my bones stopped developing so that as an adult I’m short and crooked and it hurts me to sit. At least I can walk okay.

I went to school until the 10th Standard. I have three older sisters. Two of my sisters and their husbands went to work in Kerala, so I stayed at home and raised their children. I love these children. Two of them have grown up and are working or studying. Of the other two, one is in 10th Standard and the other in +2. My other sister lives here in Silamathupatti. Her husband is a tailor.

I heard about Blue Mango from RUADT. Before coming here I worked for them for two years doing census counting of the handicapped people in this area. I like the actual work here. Everyone is my friend. I’m talking all the time because if I don’t, I’ll fall asleep.