Rajakumari: A mother’s story
Rajakumari is just one of thousands of mothers who was been forced to flee her home in the north of Sri Lanka as a result of intensive fighting in the region.
Rajakumari and her husband were told by the Sri Lankan army that they would have to leave behind their grocery store in the city of Kilinochchi and head to a nearby camp for displaced people.
In the confusion, they became separated from their two youngest children, Rohini and Konesh. Despite the assurances of government officials, the children were taken in a crowded bus to a different camp with only their uncle to look after them.
“I was worried sick. We didn’t know this place at all,” says Rajakumari. “Children are being kidnapped everywhere in the country. I didn’t know if I would ever see my children again. If my brother in law fell ill, who would look after my children? If my children fell ill, who will take care of them? All this was going on in my mind. We just couldn’t eat or sleep”
The couple’s eldest child had already been recruited by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and killed in the fighting.
After more than a month, Rajakumari learned that her children were enrolled in a school welfare centre at one of the camps. Save the Children was then able to reunite the family after 50 days apart.
“When we got here Rohini had gone to school,” she explains. “My son Konesh came running over and hugged me. Then Rohini came home and I was so happy to finally be with my children.”
“When my mother came, I was so happy,” adds Rohini. “She stitches my school uniforms. She also buys fruit for us. She washes my clothes. She plaits my hair. I always slept with my mother so I really missed her all this time.”
Save the Children is currently working to register thousands of children at the camps in Vavuniya, Jaffna, Trincomalee and Mannar in the north of Sri Lanka and reunite them with their families.
We’re also providing them with food and clothing, as well with temporary schooling and safe places to play.