The story of Ramya Ranaweera and her family is both touching and heartbreaking.

Ms Ranaweera came to Australia from Sri Lanka to study a Bachelor of Nursing at Charles Sturt University (CSU) to extend her knowledge and become qualified to work here.

To do this, though, she had to leave her family behind, something that has caused her enormous heartache since she arrived here in early March.

Had she known then what she knows now perhaps her decision would have been different.

“It wasn’t a hard decision because I didn’t know how much it would have been to come,” she said. “I thought I would have been able to bring my children.”

But Ms Ranaweera couldn’t.

The cost to enrol them at school on her visa was too high at $5000 per child per year for the duration of her course. In addition, Ms Ranaweera had a third child to care for, an eight-month-old baby.

After she finishes her degree Ms Ranaweera plans to relocate her family to Bathurst.

The thought of that and her children back home in Sri Lanka have kept her going through all the stress and the loneliness, and here she has found support from schools, churches and community groups. 

St Philomena’s Primary School principal James Farr has been a key figure in Ms Ranaweera’s journey; it is thanks to him that her children were able to visit her.

After many months of campaigning, Mr Farr was able to help secure a loan of $2000 from Ms Ranaweera’s employer that has seen her children, son Shenal Breden (8) and daughter Deina Shenoni (6), flown to Australia.

“I felt so happy; I was so excited to see them,” Ms Ranaweera said. “Because of James Farr I got my kids back.”

Shenal Breden and Deina Shenoni will get to stay with their mother for a few weeks before their father flies out from Sri Lanka to collect them in December. Ms Ranaweera is making the most of the time she has with them, but soon reality will set in and all her attention will be focused on repaying loans, including the latest one used to bring out her family. 

St Philomena’s plans to help raise money to pay off that loan.

“We’ve been having Ramya days to raise money to pay for the airline tickets and we wrote to the Sisters of St Joseph’s in North Sydney for help,” Mr Farr said. 

In the meantime, the school is calling on the community to help Ms Ranaweera earn money by letting her do household jobs.

She is available for child minding and domestic work, and she holds a driver’s licence, First Aid Certificate, Working with Children Police Check, National Crime Check, and a PANDEMIC certificate. If you have any work for Ms Ranaweera please contact her on 0413 414 447 or rcranaweera@gmail.com