Grace Update | Grace Profiles | Changing of the Guard | Your Love Has Built a Home

Meet: Thushantini Selvarajah

Date of Birth: Oct. 26, 1995
Born in Trincomalee, Thushantini had three sisters and a brother. The conflict intruded on the family early: Her father was killed during conflict-inspired riots when Thushantini was still an infant. He was burned to death by mobs that looted and razed Trincomalee in response to the ongoing violence in the north.

Thushantini’s mother struggled to find work in hotels, but the family had no stable home. Thushantini and her sister, Kajenthini, were admitted to Grace in early 2007, where they are able to regularly attend school for the first time in their lives. She enjoys studying Tamil literature, and would like to be a teacher.

“We are happy here,” Thushantini said. “Grace feels like a home.”

 

Meet: Viran Annapooranam,
Date of birth: Aug. 7, 1934

Born in the village of Matale in Sri Lanka’s central hill country, Mrs. Annapooranam was one of three children. One of her two brothers was killed during the conflict, as was her husband in 1993 and, over the 26 years of the war, all three of her sons.

After losing her family, Mrs. Annapooranam returned to the tea plantations of her youth, and worked until breaking her leg in an accident. She lived with her brother for a period, but he was unable to support her and asked that she be admitted to Mercy Home.

Since coming to the Grace Care Center in December 2006, Mrs. Annapooranam now feels she has a family again, and enjoys her days with the other elders and staff.