Cave dwellers get new house:

Poor family's dream come true

The cave the Goonatillake family used to live in

The union was perfect in every sense. Seelawathie was a heart patient who could not afford to over exert herself and her husband K. Goonatillake was blinded at a very early age. Goonatillake had done many odd jobs to earn his living throughout his life. But coconut plucking later became his mainstay. Goonatillake has a knack to pick out the ripe coconuts, but it's Seelawathie who yells orders from below.

Hardships

But the family had been living with the minimum of comforts for over a year, after their dire situation forced them to leave their family home.

Their sole possessions were a few pots and pans and a few pieces of plastic, which were their bed. Their house was a cave - situated in Nakolagana, Andiyagama - four feet in height.

The entrance to the cave was covered with a few pieces of mosquito net and plastic, salvaged from another's garbage.

The darkness on moonless nights didn't bother Goonetilleke. But it bothered little Nimesha Dilhani - their daughter - and Seelawathie, who spent the nights with the help of kerosene lamps.

The house presented to the Goonatillake family

They hardly had any access to drinking water. It had to be obtained from a neighbour's well. It was a tedious task which a heart patient like Seelawathie could hardly do or her blind husband.

Seelawathie's day began after cooking meals and packing the left over and leaving it with a neighbour to save it from monkeys wreaking havoc in the cave during their absence. The unruly monkeys didn't even let alone little Dilhani's school bag.

That too had to be left with a neighbour if the family were to leave their cave-house for too long.

But that wasn't the worst of their problems. Come the rainy season even their meagre daily earnings of around Rs. 400 would be lost. Goonatilleke was unable to climb trees during the rains and the family often had to live on kind gifts of rice and vegetables of neighbours.

Not so bleak

But life is not so bleak for Dilhani and her parents any more. Seelawathie's wish, for making her little daughter's life beautiful, has been granted.

After their heart rending story was first published in the Silumina on December 13, 2009, donations started pouring in.

President of the Dedigama Group of Companies, Chandrani Premaseeli Dedigama opening the plaque

An innocent child's silent pleas to ensure her right to education and a roof over her head warmed the hearts of the reader.

Employees of Lake House Electricity Department opened a 'Sisu Udana' account worth Rs. 20,000 for little Dilhani at the Peoples' Bank, Ambanpola. Sena Bokanda, Dr. Nimal Wasantha and the Prematunge family donated dried food stuff and clothes and Viraj Punchihewa donated books for little Dilhani.

Many others such as W.M. Wijesinghe, Divisional Secretary, Ehetuwewa Divisional Secretariat; H.M.W.K. Herath, Colonization Officer, Ehetuwewa Divisional Secretariat; K.G. Karunatilleke, Senior Superintendent of Surveys, Kurunegala District; Chathura K. Amarasinghe, Chief Surveyor, NARA; E.M. Wickckremasinghe, Social worker; Udaya Dharmawansha Millewa, owner of Millewa Motors; Jasintha Fernanado of Wennappuwa Ulhitiyagama; Head of Police, Ambanpola; Hemachandra, Headf of Crime Division and all the employees of the Ehetuwewa DS helped the family in numerous ways. Wijesinghe, Divisional Secretary, Ehetuwewa Divisional Secretariat provided a piece of land that belonged to the Government, for a house.

Dream come true

Boiling milk for the housewarming ceremony

March 29 was probably the happiest day of Dilhani's life.They were having a housewarming party! A house complete with two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and bathroom, costing roughly Rs. 900,000 was built and presented to Dilhani and her parents by the President of the Dedigama Group of Companies, Chandrani Premaseeli Dedigama, in memory of the late Dharmadasa Dedigama.

The expenditure for supplying the house with electricity and water was donated by the Prematunge family. Goonatilleke said that a few months ago, while living in a cave, this would have been only a dream.

-SP