Best (BEST!) Students in School

In our last post, we mentioned that two of our girls, Mamatha and Shilpa, were selected as the best students in their schools, Mamatha for Deepa Middle School (grades 5-7) and Shilpa from Deepa Primary School (grades 1-4).

Well, here they are, getting their awards at the recent school day program for Deepa School. Such excellent recognition for our two girls, who both come from such difficult backgrounds--as do all of our kids.

Shilpa 

Shilpa lived in a slum area of Mysore for seven years, until she came to Karunya Mane. She never attended school but was forced to stay home to take care of her little brothers when mom and dad went to work in the city, collecting paper and cardboard boxes to sell by weight. Shilpa came to KM a couple of years ago and started in 1st grade at Deepa School, and has gotten only A+s since. 

Shilpa's dad recently passed away, and she was very sad to see him go because they were close. Dad called for Shilpa often during the days before he died, and his kids got to see dad before he passed.

Mamatha

Mamatha came to KM a couple of years ago, after her mom died suddenly and very unexpectedly. She had a rough first two or three months as she adjusted to the new environment, after living with her mom for years in their little house. Now, she's fully integrated into KM and Deepa School and is consistently an outstanding student and really well-behaved girl.

Mamatha has a father but, after visiting her twice, he hasn't come to see her.

The award presenter in the photos is Mr. KM Puttu, an Officer in the Government Education Department.