Inside a ChildFund Self-Help Group in Sri Lanka

We can’t help ourselves without helping each other. At least, that’s the idea behind ChildFund’s Self-Help Groups in Mullaitivu District, Sri Lanka, which make it easier for people with disabilities to support each other – financially and socially.

Meet 13-year-old Mirthurson and his mom, Rajinidevi. Mirthurson is legally blind. He was first diagnosed with a visual impairment at just 9 months old, and during his early childhood, he fell several times and injured himself. Today, he can’t see without strong prescription eyeglasses – which are extremely expensive.

Mirthurson and Rajinidevi.

As you can imagine, Mirthurson doesn’t have an easy time of it at school. Even when wearing glasses and sitting in the front row, he struggles to read the blackboard, and his family must pay for an after-school tutor to help catch him up in class. “It’s not something we can usually afford,” says Rajinidevi. Fortunately, the Self-Help Group is helping make sure money isn’t an obstacle to Mirthurson getting the care he needs.

The group, formed as part of ChildFund’s Community-based Inclusive Development project in Sri Lanka, supports children and family members with disabilities to help themselves (and each other) by starting businesses together, pooling their financial resources and granting loans to members. Think of it like a bank – but one that’s created by the community, for the community.

Right now, the Self-Help Group in Mirthurson and Rajinidevi’s community is involved in an aloe vera cultivation project. Here’s how it works: Members of the group work together to cultivate aloe plants, selling them to a nearby juice producer. The proceeds from the sales go into a group account from which low-interest loans are taken by group members. With over 300,000 rupees ($876) in the account now, the aloe farming business is prospering – and so, in turn, are its members.

72-year-old Theivanai waters aloe plants on her Self-Help Group’s plot of land. The money from sales of the plants’ juice will be kept by the group so that she and other members can take out low-interest loans when they need them, greatly improving their financial stability.

Two years ago, Rajinidevi received a loan from the Self-Help Group to buy three goats. From those goats, she now has nine in her care, selling some as needed to support the family. “So far, we’ve sold two goats,” she says. “Once, we faced a great challenge when Mirthurson broke his glasses at school. I wouldn’t have been able to buy new ones if I hadn’t had these goats. I sold one and he has glasses again.”

Another group member, 32-year-old Jeyantha, lost her arm after being struck with debris during the great tsunami of 2004. Today, she is the bookkeeper for the Self-Help Group. She uses loans from the group’s aloe sales to invest in equipment for her family’s fishing business.

Jeyantha leads a Self-Help Group meeting.

But the Self-Help Groups provide more than just a financial safety net for their members. They also act as a forum for people with disabilities to come together and discuss the issues and challenges they face. They even function as an advocacy group when these challenges need to be presented to local authorities. In a world where people with disabilities often face discrimination and hardship, this strength-in-numbers approach is a welcome source of support for children and their families alike.

As for Mirthurson? Rajinidevi is hopeful that once he graduates high school, he’ll be able to participate in the project’s vocational training program for youth with disabilities. We know that with the support he needs to succeed, he’ll go far.