My husband Venkata Narayana died more than seven years ago from AIDS. I have two daughters and a son. The oldest is taking a midwifery assistant course, and my second daughter is in the fourth grade. The youngest also studies fourth at the local government school.
Due to my husband’s illness, I incurred debt for the costs of treatment. Also, my parents and sister-in-law had to help me financially. Before my husband passed away, we earned an income from his work as a clothing merchant in neighbouring towns, while I did crafts. The treatment at the Bathalapalli RDT hospital was unsuccessful and I had to sell everything.
We lived in a small hut. In the rainy seasons, we had to take our belongings to our relatives’ houses since it was not well protected and water entered from outside. With their help, we made temporary repairs but soon they sank. For this reason, my children and I took refuge in the house of a relative.
I am one of the beneficiaries of the housing programme in the village of Cheruvumundu Thanda. Later, RDT provided me with a loan, which I have already managed to repay, to start a small business. Also, thanks to the support and suggestions of the RDT staff of the Gandlapenta Vocational Training Center, I am learning in the bookbinding unit.
With this training, I earn an average of 100 rupees a day. I am saving as much as I can to provide a good education for my children. Thanks to RDT and the collaborators of Spain we are now able to live our lives fully. Without their support, we would continue to have many complications in our daily life. Now I hope that my children have a good future.