Umesh!

Little Umesh has been with Operation Shanti since his birth on June 6, 2007. He was always a chubby baby and looks a lot like his father, who is a day laborer at the big vegetable market in the city.

Umesh in June 2008

Dad wasn't very good to his two boys, Darshan and Umesh, and rarely bothered to care for them. He also frequently beat up his wife, Kavita, and she hated that her boys saw this happening to her. Mom took as good care of her boys as she could, and when we opened Karunya Mane, she asked us to take in her boys.

Umesh just finished kindergarten at Deepa School, a nice private school in the area. During his years at Karunya Mane, he has really improved in both behavior and demeanor. He used to be a grumpy little boy and frowned often, and he used to like to hit his friends!

Now, in 2013, Umesh is a very happy little boy who smiles a lot, listens obediently to his house mother, and plays nicely with his friends. He also listens to his teachers in school -- we never get complaints about Umesh -- and shows great interest in schoolwork and writing the ABCs.

Umesh (left) with friends Jeevan (center) and Adarsh (right) in late 2012

Umesh, almost six years old, is growing up really nicely, has so far maintained his baby fat (!), and likes to live at Karunya Mane with his brother Darshan. Mom visits them once a month and she always brings them a nice lunch and snacks.

We'd love to get Umesh a sponsor! If you are interested in sponsoring Umesh for a year, please see our website at Sponsor an Operation Shanti Kid! on how to go about doing this. Sponsorship is $400 a year, or $33 per month for 12 months.

Thanks so much!