Saumya Arunodani was born blind. But it has not held her back: She has more medals, trophies and certificates of achievement than most teens her age.

Workers on tea plantations are the backbone of the Sri Lankan economy. Yet many live in cramped, ancient and dangerous houses.

Locals in Ashraf Nagar say the army is illegally occupying their land. The Catamaran spoke to the Ashraf Nagar woman who filed a court case against the soldiers.

A 53-year-old woman in remote northern Sri Lanka is teaching her village to weave flax baskets. The exercise has seen locals cooperating in a unique way.

The way that members of different religious and racial groups live together in Viharahena village is a model for future Sri Lankan reconciliation.

In towns where fishing is the main occupation, students often drop out of school around 13. After all, why do they need an education when they already have a job?

A group of wind turbines near a Sri Lankan village are so loud locals cannot sleep and tourists are driven away. Officials say they can’t do a thing about it.

Sri Lankan couple J. Sivajini and P. Jeganathann were badly wounded after they joined the Tamil Tigers. But they are rejoining society with the fruits and vegetables they sell.

Alcoholism is a serious issue in Sri Lanka’s hill country, as is artificial alcohol, that is more like drinking poison than palm wine.

Sand mining by hand, a tough and physically demanding job, is mostly done by men. Yet Senevirathnage Pathma, a woman from Anuradhapura, has joined them.

After Sri Lanka’s worst natural disaster since the 1994 tsunami, survivors were promised new homes. Two years later they are still living in the same danger.

Despite being warned by the whole village not to visit the home of the local prostitute, one erstwhile journalist does – and gets more than she bargained for: The woman’s life story.

Two years ago gangs rampaged through Dharga Town, committing hate crimes against Muslims there. One of the victims tells how he feels about the gangs now.

To support her family, Helen Jasitha Fernando took up fishing, even though she could not swim. Close to 70 now, Fernando will keep fishing – and for a worthy reason.

Since the end of the civil war, more Sri Lankan couples are divorcing then ever. Tamil locals say militant groups kept society conservative and families together.

Land confiscated in Sampur has been returned and locals have moved back in. But so has the Ceylon Electricity Board, which is building a potentially destructive power plant next door.