Sanitary workers of the Hambantota Municipal Council were resettled in Samodagama GN Division in the Hambantota DS Division several years ago. Today Samodagama is now home to 62 families, out of which 95 percent are Tamil and are mainly Tamil speakers.

Most of these people are brick workers, whilst others work for a daily wage, while still others are forced to beg in order to scrape together a daily income. At present, eight families work at the Municipal Council as sanitary workers and two families work for the salt industry.

These people battle a hoard of social and economical problems. As a result, they are unable to send their children to school even though the children are of a school–going age. Instead, these children are used for anti–social activities, as there is no encouragement from parents to attend school.

This is due to one or more reasons, including the lack of clothes, shoes, books, school bags, and food, amongst others. Some children are sent off to work to earn a wage for their family.

Job opportunities within the village are minimal and people are compelled to travel outside the village in search of work.

Some of these families are even deprived of a daily meal, whilst some others do not have clothes on their backs.

Unemployment in the area has rendered people distraught and helpless. In all eagerness, some have expressed their willingness to undergo training in the fibre industry, the coir industry, and home gardening.

The people grapple with numerous infrastructure problems, such as the lack of electricity facilities, poor road conditions, insufficient water supply, and lack of shelter. The villagers of Samodagama Rajapaksha Mawatha share one tap among 26 families. In addition, there are 14 families without toilet facilities and families are forced to forego sanitary practices.

To add to the misery, they run the risk of not having a healthy environment to live in, as a result of deforestation and floods. During the past three months, the area was flooded thrice due to heavy rains. With many houses submerged, the people were driven from their homes with no place to live.

Besides floods, some of the houses are not in any suitable state to live in as they are damaged. The majority of the houses are temporary and even lack basic protection. Some people use their homes as their kitchen by day and bedroom by night, with upto two to three families living in one claustrophobic space they call home, eight by ten feet in size.

Some other common issues that these people face are the lack of National Identification Cards (38 families), Certificates of Birth (34 families), Certificates of Marriage (nine families), and ‘Samurdhi’ (28 families). Additionally, there are 13 children who do not attend school.

People in Samodagama still live with a ray of hope that they will have a place to call home someday. To date, their dreams have been confined to mere dreams. Their problems are in abundance and solutions non–existent and out of sight. Will their dreams just continue to remain as mere dreams?