"My dad used to call me, "honey," "darling" and "sweetie." He raised me with so much love…

"My dad was a farmer. One day, in the dawn, while he was going to his paddy field, the army caught and killed him... My mother raised me until I was 15 years old. By then I couldn't stand my mother's struggles to raise me all by herself. So I told her to leave me in a children's home...

"Only after I came here, I learned that I am not the only one; there are lots of people like me who lost their loved ones... Now, I am hoping for my parent's wishes (blessings) and support from my providers, for the future..."

Uthawi, a charity active in the Batticaloa District, has responded to cries of anguish like this and is trying its best to help. It runs five homes for destitute children in various parts of Batticaloa – Vipulanantha at Thirupalugamam, Manikawasagar at Morakaddanchnai, Yogaswami at Sittandy, Kathiroli and Shakthi at Kokkaddicholai.

The children (both girls and boys), numbering around 150, ranging from five to 20 years, are either orphans, have a single parent, or are those whose parents are not in a position to support them due to poverty, sickness or other extreme circumstance. Nearly all the kids are survivors of the war.