Piyaseeli, 61, Sri Lanka

Photo: Mayur Paul/HelpAge International Spending 12-hour days pedalling on an old-fashioned sewing machine would leave most people in pain.

When you're in your sixties, it's going to take a huge toll. Just ask Piyaseeli from Sri Lanka, who ended up exhausted, her knees and joints aching badly.

And the sewing wasn't all she had to do. With a 13-year-old granddaughter to cook for and get ready for school, she had her work cut out from before sunrise until late at night.

It took a simple solution to transform her health and life. She joined a local Older People's Association, which gave her a small grant towards buying a better sewing machine.

Small grant, huge impact

The impact on her life has been tremendous. Her income has tripled, thanks to her new machine, which helps her work much faster than before. She doesn't need to keep pushing away at pedals anymore, either, so the pain and inflammation in her legs has gone.

Emotionally, too, the grant has given Piyaseeli a new lease of life. When she got the money, she felt so good. It was as though she'd finally been recognised for her abilities and efforts. Sadly, that recognition can be hard to come by for older people, even when it's obviously deserved. Read her story below!

"I had to work 12 hours a day"

"We are three women in the house. My daughter, my granddaughter and I live here. My husband passed away 20 years ago. My daughter's husband abandoned his family thirteen years ago. When he left the family my granddaughter, Nithiya, was just a toddler. I brought up my granddaughter myself and now she addresses me as a mother as well.

"From the day my husband died, I started sewing to earn money. When I first started I had a machine that you had to pedal with the feet. I had to work 12 hours a day on that machine. It was very hard and gave me aches in my knees and joints.

"I was also caring for Nithiya at the same time as my daughter worked at the garment factory. I used to wake up at 4.30am and cook for the family.

"By 6am I would cook all the food and prepare the meals for the day. Then I would bathe, feed and prepare my granddaughter for preschool. I would then start the sewing work. I would keep looking at the watch because at 11.30am, I would go to pick up Nithiya from school.

"When she came back home I'd make her lunch and then go back to work again. My daughter used to leave for at 5am in the morning and would come back by 6pm. Because she worked 13 hours a day at the garment factory she would have no energy to do house work when she came back.

"The grant made me believe in myself"

"Banks are reluctant to grant loans to people who are over 55. So without HelpAge setting up these SCCs (Senior Citizens Committee) that gave me the grant we would have been in trouble. The grant made me feel good and made me believe in myself because if someone is willing to give me money at my age that is very good.

"With the grant I was able to buy a new sewing and interlocking machine. With these machines I am now able to make mosquito nets, door mats and bags as well. Now I can make 2-3 times more money. My knees are also better and don't hurt any more.

"Me and my granddaughter are so attached emotionally that I feel I have two daughters. If I go anywhere she tells me that I will count on my fingers the days till you return. Now Nithiya goes to school and after school she likes to make some jewellery from beads.

"Her mother sells it to her colleagues at the garment factory and all the money Nithiya earns she puts it in a piggy bank. She is collecting money so that she can study to become a lawyer.

"Nithiya has vowed that she will study hard and that one day she will take her mom and me out of poverty. She is very studious and very determined to learn English. I am very proud of her.

"My only wish for the future is to educate my granddaughter and make sure she rises in society."