A Quiet Child Learns to Speak in Sri Lanka

When Nilusha’s daughter was 2 years old, she could only speak a few words –and Nilusha blamed herself. Her family believed that baby Kavisha could not talk because they had neglected some of their traditional rituals.

“We couldn’t observe her first meal of rice and her first haircut, according to our traditions," says Nulisha, who lives in the village of Veherayaya, in southern Sri Lanka. "I was feeling guilty as well. Things between me and my husband got bitter. He was angry and often shouted at me.”

But family traditions were not the cause of Kavisha’s learning problems, which are common in Veherayaya. A recent study has shown that 24 out of the 80 village children - 30 percent - had growth and development problems.

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