Direct Aid Program

Stories of Development: the Direct Aid Program in Sri Lanka

Getting a fair price at the market

Vythilingam Navaranjithamani, a small-scale farmer who sells her produce at the Atchuvely market in Jaffna District, is determined that she and other farmers get a fair price for their hard work.

Thanks to a new agricultural collection centre, funded by the Australian Government and hosted by Atchuvely Multi-Purpose Co-Operative Society, that’s exactly what they get. The centre is funded under the Australian Government’s Direct Aid Program, as part of Australia’s support for stability and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka, which directly benefits the most vulnerable and marginalised.

Navaranjithamani cultivates a variety of produce on 1.25 acres of land – a mix of her own and her relatives – to make ends meet.

“I harvest the evening before and start out at 5am. I take up to 35kg of fresh produce on my bicycle to Atchuvely market,” she says.

Prior to the establishment of the collection centre, Navaranjithamani encountered a market place dominated by men and traders who excluded her, leaving her sales to last. She would either receive a low price or wouldn’t be able to sell her crops, and traders would deduct money from her sale price to account for waste and their commission.

“The new collection centre doesn’t do any of these things, so I benefit in several ways,” she says.

Navaranjithamani knows there is more work to do to ensure the collection centre can sustain itself in the long term.

“It’s early days, so not everyone knows about the centre, but we will talk directly with farmers so they understand the benefits,” she says.

Supporting people with disabilities to make a living

Santha Rajarathnam, who lost her leg and her husband during the Sri Lanka’s civil war, had been finding it tough using an old prothesis and trying to support her family on her earnings from cattle and poultry farming. Prosthetic limbs cost at least $170, which most Sri Lankans can’t afford.

Thanks to the Australian Government’s support of the Centre for Handicapped (CFH) in Kundasale, Santha and others like her can hope for a brighter future. The program provides prosthetic limbs to people who need them in the Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu Districts and supports their livelihoods, particularly in agriculture.

Santha has received a new prosthetic limb that has improved her mobility and her capacity to earn a better living. Prior to receiving her new prosthetic limb, Santha put on her six-year-old prosthetic leg and rode her bicycle to the market to sell her goods 15 kilometers away in the district capital, Kilinochchi.

“The prosthesis was too old to use for walking, and the pain was excruciating when it rubbed against the stump,” Santha says.

“The first few years after the war were very difficult for me. I had no idea what I should do after losing my leg and how I should live. I felt very helpless. I had to keep my two children and my mother alive. Losing a leg made it very difficult to carry out daily activities.

“I’m so grateful to both the Centre for Handicapped and the Australian Government for their assistance.”

The CFH program is funded under Australia’s Direct Aid Program, as part of our assistance for stability and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka that directly benefits the most vulnerable and marginalised.