Interviews on the Economy:

Studying So I Can Build My Own House

The civil war and an unstable security situation curtailed Nimala Vijitha’s studies. Now at the age of 26, with a husband and child, she is studying again, in the hopes of a better future. Vijitha lives in the fishing town of Navanthurai, Jaffna, and her husband, Benedict, is a fisherman.

How much do you earn a month?

Between LKR20,000 (EUR121) and up to LKR25,000 (EUR152).

And where does your money go?

We spend about LKR15,000 on food alone.

Is that enough to live on?

It’s sufficient.

And what are you hoping for in the future?

At the moment we live on land that is a security zone and belongs to the government. I would love to buy land elsewhere and to own my own house. I need to sit my exams first and then I would like to try and get into the civil service. That’s my dream, that was interrupted by the civil war.

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