By World Vision Lanka communications team

Kasthuri (10) dropped out of school last February to look after her two younger brothers – Sundar (4) and Arul (1) while her parents went in search of work to feed their mouths.

Kasturi’s parents used to work in the tea estate, earning only Rs. 5000/- a month if they worked eight hours everyday in good and bad weather.

With the rising cost of living and no rise in their income her father went in search of work in the city and her mother left the country in February in search of employment abroad, leaving the children in the care of their grandmother.

Kasturi’s father has promised Kasturi that he would send her back to school someday, but he himself doesn’t know when that they would come.

Kasturi hopes in that promise. “I like my school teacher and I want to be like her when I grow up. She teaches us songs and alphabet and I want to teach them to small children someday.”

“I love taking care of my little brother,” she says, “but I wish I could go to school too.”

The food crisis that is eating into many areas of Sri Lanka has disturbingly increased the school drop out rate in the country. Many parents are forced to decide whether they want to feed the children or give them an education and many children have dropped out of school and joined the labour force to support their families.

The crisis is not just caused by food prices; the hike in fuel prices claws into almost every fruit, vegetable and bag of rice making it even more difficult for people to afford even the food that is available.

P B Jayasena (55) father of seven children used to buy fruits and vegetables at the wholesale market and sell it in his village in the Thanamalwila ADP.

“But now I have stopped it,” he says, “With the fuel prices going up it became a total loss. The sellers add their fuel cost to the produce and when I add mine on top of it, it’s no longer affordable for the buyers.”

Even the small land he cultivates is parched during this dry season.

“We totally depend on rain water and when there’s no rain, we need to pump water and that’s a cost because we need to use a lot of fuel to pump water for the whole area as the well is not close by.”

Jayasena’s vegetable shack is empty except for a plate of batu that was plucked from the few trees in his garden and waiting for a buyer.

The farmer now goes in search of labour work in the community while his wife works as a sweeper in a close by garment factory for Rs. 3000/- (USD 30) per month, fighting to meet the basics of their family.

“We can’t even afford soap for washing purposes. We use minimal so that we can save few more coins to use in buying food,” he says.

“Three of my children are still in school with my daughter Priyani getting ready to write the Ordinary Level (O/L) exam,” says the mother, “But if I need to keep them in school, I will have to keep them hungry. Already we buy food on debt and we just make rice and one curry and save the same for lunch and dinner if possible.”

“Sometimes I have no money at hand for their bus fare. It used to be Rs. 40/- (USD 0.40) but now it’s Rs. 70/- for travelling up and down. At those times they have to stay home. Priyani had fainted several days in class last few weeks because she had to leave home without breakfast.”

Priyani, who once dreamed of becoming a maths teacher has revised her plans.

“It’s difficult for my parents and I’m thinking of dropping out of school and start working maybe in a garment factory so that I can support my family,” she says.