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 can help to support her family financially. Their youngest daughter (19) is studying for her G.C.E Advance Level examination. Before they were selected to receive a home through the “Homes not Houses” project funded by the European Union, they were among the thousands of families who were displaced by the war. Sathiyaran’s family was forced to live in her parents’ house, sharing a small house with 02 other families, all desperately trying to keep safe from the prevailing violence.
Sathiyaran and her husband worked hard to save money to one day buy a land for their own family. Sathiyaran was enterprising and cooked and sold food in their local area, while her husband Thiyagarasa continued to work as a daily wage laborer. Together they saved enough money to buy the land that their beautiful Habitat home now stands on. Sathiyaran proudly shares how her daughters have also been active in making their house a true home by giving unique touches to their Habitat home; like the splash of bright pink on their window frames. Sathiyaran commented that she is happy knowing that her daughters have a safe place to call home - “and after years of living just day to day, we have no fear at night now, because we are safe”.
