After the sudden death of her husband from a heart attack, Alosiyus was left to support her two children with no income. Her relatives, also from the Tamil Nadu, India site, could not help her, despite her dire situation, as they, too, were struggling. With no job in sight and her children looking to their mother for emotional and financial support, Alosiyus had no choice but to find a way forward. So, she took a risk and started her own small business selling essential groceries to locals in the Madurai community, hoping she could make some money quickly.
Aloysius has been an active member of the Chalice community since her oldest daughter, Srikarthika, joined the Child Sponsorship Program in Grade 4. Now in Grade 11, this support has been invaluable to the family and continues to ensure Srikarthika receives a foundational education.
Despite this welcomed support, Alosiyus found herself at a crossroads — the business wasn’t making enough money to cover the family’s basic needs, and she couldn’t afford to invest money into it to buy more wholesale goods to fulfil growing customer demands. Feeling like she had nowhere to turn, Alosiyus borrowed money with interest just to cover the monthly expenses. She also approached her local Chalice Circle Group for help.
Then, just when Alosiyus least expected it, Chalice Gift Catalogue donors came through. With this generous gift, she was able to purchase extra supplies to fill her store, and the income from selling these is now enough to help her cover the family’s monthly expenses.
“Chalice stretched out the supporting hands to raise us up… I have no words to express my gratefulness to Chalice except my smiling face,” she says, with renewed confidence and faith she can now support her family.