Education! Thank you Yahoo! Employee Foundation

Operation Shanti expresses its sincere appreciation to the Yahoo! Employee Foundation for their grant of $5,000 for educational purposes for our children at Karunya Mane for the 2013-2014 school year.

From the Yahoo! website: "The Yahoo! Employee Foundation (YEF) is a grassroots, philanthropic organization that brings together the talents, time, and financial resources of Yahoo! employees to serve the needs of communities around the globe. YEF is a unique foundation, as it is employee run, employee driven and employee funded."

Vinutha, Jyothi, Lalitha, Sowmya

We focus on giving our kids an excellent education by:

- using only quality private schools that are open-minded and supportive

Raju

- engaging eleven after-school teachers to provide tutoring every day for two hours after school, including one-on-one tutoring to our special needs child and two-on-one tutoring for two of our girls who need extra attention

Shashidhar Sir tutors the 5th standard kids

Prema, former street girl who requires two hearing aids, studies well today in 7th grade under the
guidance of her tutor, Jyothi Miss, who teaches all of our 7th graders

- providing a nice on-site library

- ensuring that the kids eat properly (minimum sugar, maximum healthy grains and protein) and take their vitamins

Older girls, school dance program

- giving them support for extracurricular activities, such as sports, arts and crafts, school projects, and cultural activities

Operation Shanti extends special thanks to our Yahoo! employee champion, Amaree Tanawong!

Selected photos courtesy of our dear friend Janea Wiedmann.

Go Sadiq and Divya!

Congratulations to Divya and Sadiq, two of our kids studying in English medium. English is not their native language -- it isn't for any of our kids -- but they wanted to take advantage of the English curriculum offered at school to further their education.

Sadiq switched to English medium this school year (5th grade) after studying in Kannada medium for the past three years (English is only offered at 5th grade and beyond). We though he'd do pretty well because he's a good student, but making the switch is not easy for kids who don't come from wealthy backgrounds and families who speak English in the home.

Sadiq

As you can see, he did quite well! Sadiq's first quarter text scores:

Kannada - A+
English - A
Hindi - A
Mathematics - A+
Science - B+
Social Studies - A

During the parent/teacher meeting, Sadiq's teacher told our house mothers that he knows everything even though the grades didin't reflect that -- he was likely nervous when taking his first test written in 100% English. We aren't concerned because he is diligent and has very good study habits. Most of all, Sadiq is highly motivated and wants to do well in school.

When Sadiq first came to us in 2010, he had to start over in 1st grade because he had previously gone to an Urdu school and knew no Kannada. His mom died a few years ago and his dad struggled to feed his three kids, who are now all with us at Karunya Mane.

We also want to highlight Divya, our girl in 6th grade in English medium. Divya received the top scores on the 1st quarter test and ranked #1 in her class!!!

Divya, happy at GRS Fantasy Park in 2013

Divya has been with us since 2008 when she started in 1st grade, and she switched to English in 5th grade two years ago. She's an excellent student and it's hard to believe she used to sleep outside a restaurant on the sidewalk with her dad, who sold peanuts while riding around the city on his bicycle.

Divya and Dad in 2008