Our Families

Finally Home

This beautiful new home, the bountiful harvest, and the child I am carrying are all good omen for us to start a new life, after many years of wandering as displaced persons. Thank you on behalf of my child." Kailayapillai Koneswary, a recipient of a ...

Realizing a Dream of a Lifetime

Maria and her husband Joseph were active members of the society of the homeless ‘Jana Awaboda Kendraya’ as they had no house of their own and they had to constantly relocate - after a decade in the society they received a 12.5 perch land ...

A Brand New Chapter

Dulcy Katherine, is a vibrant 90-year old lady considered a pillar of the visually impaired homeowner community in Nayanalokagama Village in Katana. Having lived a full life, Dulcy reflects on the hardships she has faced throughout her life ...

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Saranapala, has been visually impaired since birth; however this has never stopped him from striving hard to build a better life for himself and his family. Saranapala and his wife Indrani live in Nayanalokagama with their Son, Daughter in law ...

On Solid Ground

Rajappan Jagdeshwaran, his wife, and their son were displaced by the war for many years when in 2016 they were selected as beneficiaries of the ‘Homes not Houses Project’ funded by the European Union in Kilinochchi. He had the opportunity of ...

Rising from the Ashes

Nadeeshani and Dayaratne and their three young children; Ravindu, Kiruli and Shanuli had just moved into their newly constructed home in Yatiyantota when the devastating Cyclone Roanu struck Sri Lanka in May 2016. Nadeeshani and her family ...

Building Better and Stronger

In his 30 years as a Mason, it is only through the Homes not Houses Project that Thangavel is able to achieve his dream of building with appropriate technology and thereby saving the forests and rivers of his beloved motherland. As part of the EU ...

A Mother’s Dream

Perinparasa takes care of a household with 7 vibrant members in it. She is a daily wage laborer and works regularly at nearly by paddy fields. Her husband is a fisherman and spends most of his time at the coast of Batticaloa looking for work to provide for their..

Path to Stability

Yogarani and her husband Sogkumar are parents to three sons; Kishan, Dinushka and Menaka. Sogkumar earns minimum wage by engaging in multiple jobs. He juggles between driving a school bus and taking ‘Tuk Tuk’ hires in order to support the family ...

Great Expectations

A hardworking mother of three, Pathmawathi explains how difficult her life has been during and after the civil war in Sri Lanka. Pathmawathi tells her story about how her husband went through a lot of trouble to provide them with a temporary shelter in 1992 ...

A Future of Promise

Mother of three, Loganayagi resides with her husband, eldest son and her grand-daughter in their Habitat home that was constructed as a part of the Indian Housing Project in Batticaloa. Loganayagi explains how wholesome the experience ...

A Promise Kept

The little rustic village of Vallipuanam in Mullaitivu, once ravaged by war, was abuzz with celebration as Rajeshwary boiled traditional milk in her new home in September 2019. Adaikan Rajeshwary’s eyes lit with joy and pride at the restoration of her family’s ...

Safe at Last

Samithambi is a mother of two, who takes care of them and her husband who recovered recently from a hip surgery. Her husband was thankfully able to go through his healing process within the stable environment and comfort that their new home ...

A House of Dreams

The Story of Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka's First Homeowner supported in 1995. Selwyn, a police officer in Hatton, and his wife Jegajothy lived with their 3 young children in the quarters the police provided for them. Closing in on his retirement ...

A Foundation of Hope

Palitha and Kanthimalika, lived with their daughter and her family in a shelter made of wooden planks and metal sheets. Their daughter worked in a local grocery store, her husband earning a daily wage through rickshaw hires. The latter which was ...

Paving New Avenues

Like most families during the war, Yohamalar and her family were compelled to seek shelter in refugee camps. After the war ended in 2009 her family built a temporary shelter for themselves, but it lacks security and it is a constricted space ...

Home is where the Heart is

For almost six years, Nilani and her family lived on rent, with no permanent place to call home. They often found themselves shifting from one house to another, as the years passed their financial situation progressively worsened, they could not afford ...

Changemaker

Premalatha works in the plantations of Hellbodde Estate and is a part of the committee formed by the homeowners of the Indian Housing Project. She is a resilient single mother of two. Her daughter is happily married and lives close by to her new home ...

Rebuilding Hope

Chandani lives with her husband Dayananda, daughter Dinushika, and her son Gayan. Chandani also takes care of her mother, who is ill and unable to walk. Chandani and her family suffered the impact of the disaster that struck in May of 2016 ...

Picking Up The Pieces

Sunil (48) and Nilmini (35) lived in Aranayake, Kegalle with their daughter, Sumudu Sewandi (12), and their son Janaka Nethsara (1). They lived comfortably in their 3 bedroom house and lived happily with their two children. Sunil relied on the income ...

New Beginnings

Vajira and her family moved into their first own home constructed through the Kalutara Housing Project lead by Habitat for Humanity on the 1st of April 2018. Vajira was compelled to be the breadwinner of her family because her husband had an unfortunate ...

The Road to Recovery

Sujeewa beams with glee as she welcomes guests into her first home owned by her family, after years of living in houses that were rented. Sujeewa’s husband Susil (48) is a cancer survivor, who currently owns a rickshaw and takes hires to bring a steady ...

A Dream Come True

Sudarshani and Indika live in their new Habitat home with their four children aged 17, 11, 8 and 4 and Sudarshani’s elderly mother. The family of seven previously lived in a single room temporary shelter made of wooden planks, which Indika had ...

Hope of the Next Generation

Upon being displaced in Batticaloa after the civil war for eight months, 52 year old Kumaraguru explains how extremely “happy and hopeful for this new chapter in life” he is. Kumaraguru lost his boutique shop; his only source of income during the war ...

Hope of a Brighter Tomorrow

Mohanaledchami is expecting her second child in early August, and is currently preparing for this new addition to her life. She lives with her husband, her daughter (10), her mother and her mother in-law; and they are a very close-knit family ...

A Place to Call Home

Sivarasa is a hardworking man who takes care of not only his wife and 3 children, but also his parents. His father (78) and his mother (72) are excited to see their grandchildren grow up in a home that is theirs as a family, and take pride in the fact that they...

Defying The Odds

Ruby is a vibrant young lady who works at the CSEB Production Yard in Batticaloa in a supervisory capacity while simultaneously playing a role of a SME representative. Ruby has been working at the yard for nearly 05 months and takes pride in being ...

Turning Dreams Into Reality

Sathiyaran (47 years old) and her husband Thiyagarasa are parents to 5 children, 3 of whom are married and living with their own families. Their youngest daughters live with them at present, while one daughter (22) is looking for a job so she ...

From Surviving to Thriving

Prior to shifting into their conventional home constructed by Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka through the European Union funded housing project, Sinnathamby, his wife and four daughters lived with extended family and was gradually able to ...

Home Sweet Home

Udayani, was a mother of 2 when she received a Habitat home back in 2012. Now in 2018, Udayani has 3 beautiful and energetic daughters, and is working hard with her husband to expand their home. Udayani commented on the impact that their home has ...