Father braves life’s storm
KAIYAVA Karikarisai was left alone to fend for his children after his wife died of breast cancer in 2020.
At first, he said it was hard to accept the loss of his wife and mother to their three kids. It felt like the world around him had failed.
“It was hard for us and one of my most painful experiences,” Mr Karikarisai said.
“When she was no more, the question that kept popping into his mind was whether they would be OK.
“What would it be like with the absence of a mother at home.”
Mr Karikarisai described his wife as kind, smart, loving and compassionate.
“Pretty much all the good words I can think of applied to my wife.
“I was a broken man when she left us,” she said.
But Mr Karikarisai draws some consolation from seeing her in his children’s faces.
“She was beautiful, both inside and out, and when she smiled at me, I felt alive.
“I was truly blessed to have a wife who loved me.”
During Pinktober, we often read stories of survivors of breast cancer although not quite fully aware of the devastation it causes to family life, especially one as young as Mr Karikarisai’s.
“It’s the most difficult task ever to raise your children alone,” he said, although he was truly thankful that his sister had stepped in to help him raise the children.
“I owe my sister a lot.
“I would not have managed the three years without her.”
Mr Karikarisai said his sister would help him bathe the children, iron their uniforms and made their lunches.
“Sometimes when it rains, the children are not able to go to school because of the flooded roads.
“They stayed at home under the supervision of my sister.
“She ensured they studied.”
Mr Karikarisai said the family’s source of income was the sea because there was no place for them to plant.
The money he earns from selling fish is used on basic food items — tinned food, rice, flour and tea stuff.
But despite the tough conditions, Mr Karikarisai constantly reminds his children to do well in school — it’s their pathway to a future he believes will be kind to them.
She was beautiful, both inside and out, and when she smiled at me, I felt alive. I was truly blessed to have a wife who loved me. – Kaiyava Karikarisai