Petchiammal’s

Story

Petchiammal is 80 years old. She lives in a village called Puthukudi in a very small hut that is made from things she has gathered.

She has one daughter with four granddaughters and they are all very poor and cannot support her or have her live with them.

Petchiammal has no house and no family support

Petchiammal gave away her house for her daughter’s dowry and so has no entitlement. The one breadwinner in the family is her daughter’s husband who works fixing holes in copper pots for cooking. With the increase of tin and cheaper metals, he is finding work opportunities are decreasing.

At the moment her house is becoming unstable so one of our animators will go and help her to fix it.

A pension provides food on the table

We also give her RS500 (£7) a month to help her buy basic supplies, and also provide her with a food mix containing vitamins and minerals. Once a year we give her a sari and some new bed sheets.

She said: “I am very happy that SCAD is helping me, without them I would be hungry. All the staff give me respect and so I am very happy to come here every month.”

There are more Petchiammals needing help

We support 750 destitute and orphaned elders who would otherwise be neglected by society. Read more about our scheme for the elderly  or watch a film about our outreach work. If you would like to help us to support more elderly people then you can donate.