2021 is the hardest year of our lives that many of us talk about. Because daily wage workers like us are severely affected by the epidemic. Thus affected we were out of work. The industries that our wives were doing were also suddenly shut down during the lockdown and we were forced to sell a property in our name because we could not make a living. We now live on a few thousand rupees a month and do not have a steady income to trust the future.

We are employees of an informal sector and therefore have no job opportunities or social security. We use our meager income to meet our daily needs as we live on a daily basis. We do not have the luxury of planning our future. This is another day's challenge.

One of the priorities of our lives. It's about getting kids to read better. We are determined that this situation should not come to our children like us who have dropped out of school. Our efforts aside, we may not be able to give our children the future we hope for. Although Sri Lanka provides free education, most inequalities in the quality of education result in unequal employment, making it even more difficult for children from poor families to recover from poverty.

And even if we get free treatment in public hospitals if we get any diseases, there are additional costs in addition to that. For a family living on a daily income, this cost is high.

With so much on our plate, there was no room for our own dreams. “All we thought was to be a civil servant”, we seem almost guilty of admitting that we had aspirations for ourselves in our time.

Unfortunately, the story of those like us is not ordinary. This is the story of the loss of the ability to talk about the power of investing in every human capital. I must tell you four key points on how to better understand and approach the challenges of human capital.

Challenges of human capital are evident throughout the life cycle. Challenges of human capital occur at all stages of life, from raising healthy, educated children to providing employment for adults, social security and health care for the elderly. They often have a collective effect, with challenges creating from one stage to the next, our inability to complete our schooling has hampered not only our jobs and quality of life, but also our children. Failure to meet the challenges throughout the life cycle can trap people at vulnerable levels and perpetuate the generational cycle of poverty. Human capital challenges require integrated and holistic approaches. Isolated interventions can only go so far as to create sustainable and meaningful change.

Human capital challenges require coordinated and holistic interventions based on strong cooperation in key sectors. In addition, human capital challenges are exacerbated by the lack of access and poor quality of basic services, including water, electricity and transportation. Sri Lanka can benefit from developing a human capital plan that brings together key sectors and stakeholders to implement comprehensive solutions that will facilitate the recovery and acceleration of human capital.

The epidemic has transformed valuable human capital gains. The epidemic has exacerbated the current challenges for ordinary people like us. About 500,000 people in Sri Lanka are below the poverty line. Jobs have been lost due to the epidemic, especially among women, many of whom are unable to return to work. The effects of long-term school closures will be more severe for children who do not have access to online education, and the ‘quiet learning crisis’ will affect future productivity and growth. Epidemiology shows us that strong and resilient systems are needed to reduce their exposure and vulnerability. It is also important to be prepared to adapt to emerging challenges. For Sri Lanka, the aging population and the increasing non-communicable disease burden pose a significant threat to human capital, and failure to prepare for these challenges can be catastrophic.

You can save money in the future by investing in human capital today. Sri Lanka has achieved good results in human capital development with relatively low investment. This significant improvement demonstrates the potential of the country and provides an insight into what can be achieved with efficient investment.

Human capital challenges become gender, geography and income Express imbalances in these, which allow people like us to fall through cracks. Investing now will help nurture productive citizens who contribute to the national economy and reduce costs and burdens on the population. For example, in Sri Lanka, women make up 32 percent of the labor force, compared to 75 percent of men, and the IMF estimates that if this gender gap is closed in 50 years, gross income gains will be 16 percent by 2040.

Looking ahead, Sri Lanka must be prepared for the challenge of rebuilding our lives and reshaping the future. At this crucial juncture, the renewed focus and commitment to human capital development must support a smooth and flexible recovery. For us, the path to recovery is long and difficult, but with a little help, our families can get a very different story.