Three big kids to Bannur...

This year, we transferred three of our oldest kids to a residential school in Bannur, a town about a 45-minute drive from Mysore. These three kids will be able to accelerate their educational progress there, as well as have the opportunity to make friends with more kids their own age.

The three who have gone to Bannur are Lokesh, Nanjunda, and Asha, below, saying goodbye to her cousin Gowtham.

Lokesh and Nanjunda (both in red shirts, sitting) waiting in the van.

We first stopped on the street so that Nanjunda could say a quick goodbye to his grandma (his closest relative, who lives and works on the street).

Grannie is quite happy that Nanjunda wanted to continue his education, and does not want to return to the street life.

So far, the three kids are doing well at Bannur, where they wake every morning at 4:30 for prayer and yoga practice, followed by a bath, studying and breakfast, and then school all day.

This year's school dance program

This school year at Deepa Primary School, some of our kids participated in their school dance program. The kids rehearsed every day for over a month, and everyone had a great time at the event!

Little Sowmya in her costume.

Our five oldest boys did a special number of their own.

Nanjunda, Lokesh, Kaleem, Venkatesh, and Sreenivasa.

Some of the moms attended, including Kavita (holding Vishnu), Sushila, and Kumari.

Big Pooja showed off her "bling" and danced a lovely number with a few other girls.

Prema also participated in a girls' dance about their day at school.

Big Nanjunda

We've known big Nanjunda now for over four years, and first met him on the streets in 2005. He lived there with his mom and grandmother. Mom passed away in 2008, and his dad lives somewhere in Bangalore but is rarely seen.

Nanjunda has come a long way from his life on the street. While at Karunya Mane these past two years, his behavior has improved tremendously -- especially this year, as he has started to take his studies seriously and is now first in his class. We expect that he will be able to skip 7th grade next year and start in 8th, which will help him catch up.

Studying

Nanjunda has also stepped up as a leader for our little boys, ensuring that they form proper lines when walking to the bathroom at night before bed, and when going to meals.

Getting ready for school.

Jumping rope

The kids are on their Dasara holiday from the 18th of September to the 2nd of October.
During the break, they have a daily schedule, with the normal bath/prayer routine in the morning, followed by breakfast and chores. They also continue their tutoring classes, so they don't forget what they learned in school, and spend the rest of the time playing games and engaging in some really fun outdoor activities.

Shanti

Prema and Manikanta helping Shanti

Prema

Manikanta

Sharath going to ride his bike

Nanjunda during the daily cricket gameVenkatesh

All of the toys and games for the kids were donated by generous supporters of our work. Thanks!

Spotlight on (and goodbye to) a volunteer -- "Kim Madam Kim Madam!"

Kim came to Mysore in 2006 to practice yoga and to volunteer at a charity. She started with Operation Shanti in the fall of 2006, and helped our kids and moms for two years, until mid-2008. Now, Kim is leaving Mysore for the "greener pastures" of Argentina, and we thought that we'd, along with our kids and moms, say goodbye to her and thank her for all of her contributions to our work. There were many.

with Pallavi, Apu, and Latta in our Street People Program in 2006

Kim started out volunteering with our street kids and moms, and she was involved with just about everything that we do -- from teaching our little kids their ABCs...

with Jyothi, Parveen, and Pallavi in early 2007

...to making monthly visits to the kids that we had placed in a residential school...

with Chumi, mom Kumari, and Venkatesh -- JSS Suttur 2007

...and to teaching yoga to our kids on Sundays.

Pallavi, Latta, Prema, Antony, Raguvendra, Nanjunda doing sun salutations

Kim also helped with taking our women and kids to the doctor when they got sick, made friends with the friendly ENT doctor who did Prema's ear operations, and gave it to the nasty doctor at Cheluvamba who insulted and abused one of our moms who had gone for  birth control advice.

Kim says, "There were many beautiful, heart-warming (and sometimes hilarious!) moments while I worked with Operation Shanti; however, to have witnessed how far the kids and moms have come over the past few years is the best overall experience. It's wonderful to see many of our kids now off the streets and living in Karunya Mane, a safe shelter where they're healthy, happy, thriving and getting a good education. And some of the moms have worked so hard and empowered themselves to turn their lives around by leaving dangerous and abusive domestic situations, for example. Now they're leading more peaceful and productive lives, taking excellent care of themselves and their children, and giving themselves the chance of a better future."

On the difficult times as a volunteer: "Definitely the most difficult part of volunteering for Operation Shanti was working with the terminally ill in our program--sadly watching them suffer while their lives slipped away, and then eventually saying goodbye. It was also challenging, and oftentimes maddening, to work within a system and a society that for the most part turns its back on the destitute--especially destitute women. To watch how inhumanely the poor can be treated here is just as sad and tragic as watching them die."

Recently, Kim paid a visit to the kids who are now at Karunya Mane to say goodbye before she leaves Mysore. Many of them remembered her fondly. When Prema saw Kim, she ran to her brother Venkatesh and said, "Kim madam! Kim madam!"

with little Vishnu

Even little Vishnu remembered Kim. She took him to the dentist after she noticed that his two front teeth had started rotting (mom was feeding him milk at night to help him sleep but often forgot to brush his teeth afterwards), and they spent quality time together during their several visits to the dentist.

And, what does Kim take with her to her next adventure from Operation Shanti and India? "All of the following but now to a greater degree: patience, tolerance, unconditional love, compassion, empathy, an open heart, and the joy in life's simple things."

The Zoo!

During the Dasara holiday, which went from October 8th to October 30th, the kids with parents spent 1 1/2 days at their homes. They then returned to KM to continue their tutoring sessions during the holiday, and to enjoy a couple of outings.

One outing was to GRS Fantasy Park, a mini-Disneyland like amusement park with tons of rides and games for the kids to enjoy. The kids had a blast and have already picked out the amusement park they want to visit next year.

The other outing was to the Mysore Zoo, where they saw a collection of amazing animals, like lions and tigers, and elephants and giraffes, as well as gorillas, monkeys, alligators, and exotic birds.

The kids brought a packed lunch made by our cook, Raju, whose food they absolutely love.

Swarana and Vishnu enjoying lunch

Harish, Nanjunda, Swarana, and Vinod resting

Harish (volunteer) with Vinod; Saroja; Divya holding Siri; and Manjula (volunteer)

October 23 was also Manikanta's birthday, and they brought his birthday cake to the zoo to wish him a happy day. Photos and video courtesy Thomas Smith.

Goodbye to Rukkhmini

On Sunday, November 9th at about 4:00 in the afternoon, Rukkhimini ("Rukkhi") one of our street moms, passed away. She was mom to Nanjunda, who live at Karunya Mane, and Danhu.

For more on Rukkhi, please see our post here.

Tutors!

Operation Shanti believes that education is key to a child being able to improve his or her life. We focus a good portion of our efforts and funds on providing our kids with the opportunity to get an education through good schooling during the day and through quality tutoring after school and on weekends.

Vaibraj with Latta, Divya, Shanti, and Sumitra

Recently, we arranged for after-school tutors for ALL of our kids (except for the tiny tots). The tutors, each assigned five children, arrive at 5pm to help their kids with their homework and lessons for two hours a day, five days a week.

Mamata with Parveen, Surya, Arvind, Jeevan, and Anand

Making available this tutoring to the kids is, we believe, similar to what other kids receive at home from their parents.

Our kids sure like their new tutors, all with several years of experience as tutors and teachers and each with the interest and desire to help the underprivileged.

Shoaib with Lokesh, Nanjunda, and Venkatesh

Seeing these kids coming home from school, then being diligent and disciplined with their homework... it's hard to imagine that just two years ago, most of them aimlessly roamed the streets.

One of our tutors, Shoaib (above), manages a fabric shop located on one of the busiest streets in the city. During his first visit to Karunya Mane, the boys recognized Shoaib, as they used to sell their wares (pens, Qtips, other trinkets) in front of his shop when they lived on the streets. Upon seeing Shoaib, they asked him curiously, "Why did you shoo us away from your shop?" Shoaib finds it quite amusing that he now tutors and provides guidance to these same boys, who really enjoy his company.

Venkatesh three years ago, working with his mom after school

Happy birthday (again) Sreenevasa!

Well, Sreenevasa decided that he wanted his own cake for his birthday, today. So we figured why not, since he's likely never celebrated his birthday before---at least not the official way---and the kids do love cake! After cake, they went right to studying.

Kaleem, Harish, Nanjunda, Sreenevasa

Parveen, Anand, Arvind, Pallavi

Sinchana, Parveen, Anand, Arvind

Running away...

Yesterday our worst nightmare came true, as four of our boys ran away from school. After having their lunch -- and then very conscientiously washing their lunch boxes and putting them back in their book bags -- they each walked out of the school grounds, heading for the city.

That Venkatesh, Lokesh, and Nanjunda ran away was actually a real surprise, as these three were in boarding school last year and they never ran away from there. Venkatesh and Lokesh have sisters staying at KM with them, and the three boys are good students and good kids.

It turns out that the other boy, little Manikanta -- really our riskiest kid in terms of the running away factor (just because he's had absolutely no guidance and support during his nine short years and because he's lived freely on the street during that time, going wherever he wants, doing whatever he wants) -- was the instigator, encouraging the other boys to "come with me, let's go see a movie!"

Manikanta is having the hardest time adjusting to KM and to school, as he's never gone to school before, even though he is nine. His mother would beat him and put chili powder in his eyes whenever he went home without enough money for her from his begging. He'd then run away to the street to hang with his friends for a while, until he gathered some money to take home. This continued for years for Manikanta.

This year, while we were moving our kids -- many of them his friends -- into Karunya Mane, Manikanta insisted on coming with them. We told him that he has to go to school if he stays at KM, and he agreed. But of course, he could not know how drastic a change that would be for him. So he's struggling a bit, and we are doing what we can to support and guide him as he goes through this transition.

We went to the city to where the boy's moms work to look for them, but they weren't at their old stomping grounds. Then we went to the railway station, since that's an obvious place they'd go. Even though they may have had no money, they are street smart and know how to get onto trains without a ticket. And, yes, there they were, sitting together on the sidewalk outside the train station. Just sitting, and waiting ...for what nobody knows... They looked embarrassed, sheepish, and like the guilty little boys they were when we walked up to them.

Our kids have lived for so long on the street without much guidance or support that, in some ways, they are mature for their age, as they know how to survive with very little. Yesterday, while on their little adventure, the boys bought a pen for 30 rupees from someone, then turned around and sold it for 50 rupees, netting a 20 rupee profit. So although they know that being at Karunya Mane and in school is better for them than living on the street, their old habits and ways of life remain. It'll take time for that to dissipate from their thoughts, and in the healthy, supportive environment of Karunya Mane, we are sure this will happen. They have come such a long way since when we first met them on the street three years ago. The next step will just take time -- years for some of them -- and patience and understanding on our side before they realize and believe in their hearts that they are no longer street kids.

We hauled them back to KM and had a good long talk with all of them. They were all very apologetic and said they won't do it again. They know what they did was wrong, that is certain. Whether they'll do it again, only the future will reveal... we sure hope not.

Art with Bobbi

Bobbi, a new volunteer, wanted to help out at Karunya Mane but wasn't sure what she could contribute. We suggested that she spend some time with the kids doing arts and crafts activities, to allow them to explore their creativity. Although she admitted she had no real exposure to teaching kids arts and crafts, she was willing to give it a shot with a little project each Sunday.

What a great job she did on her first Sunday, having the kids make their own name tags, complete with lots of stickers and stars and sparklies and hearts and sea creatures. She had expected maybe eight or ten kids to participate, but when she got there, they ALL wanted to make their own name tags.

Pooja and Latta with their name tags

The kids sure had a great time, and Bobbi was touched to be able to bring such fun and creativity into the kids' lives. We've found that volunteers who are willing to go beyond their comfort zones and spend quality time with the kids maybe get more out of the experience than the kids do. Let's hope the world sees more people like Bobbi, willing to give their time and energy to kids who need their attention and love.

Sharath, Kaleem, Asha, Sreenevasa, Nanjunda with Bobbi

The May fundraiser

On May 23, the "One Night Off the Mat" fundraiser was hosted by Santosa Cafe, good friends of Operation Shanti. Food was donated by Anu and Ganesh of Anu's Internet Cafe. Countless people helped organize the event, and numerous generous folks in the community donated chai, auction prizes, and entertainment. The event was a huge success, a lot of fun for all, and raised enough funds to help pay for school fees, bunk beds, and medicines for our kids at Karunya Mane.

The first seven kids that we met three years ago (Chumi, Pallavi, Latta, Prema, Venkatesh, Nanjunda, and Asha) attended the event. They had a great time watching the magician do his tricks and the Snake Sam show off his incredibly slippery snakes!

Latta and Richard hanging out

They also loved the chocolate-covered bananas and the chocolate fountain. The auction was the hit of the evening, with PJ and Richard as emcees, and many in the community donating amazing prizes.

As one generous donor said, "We were just doing our homework. Bad karma: 0; Good karma: 1".

Om namah shivaya.

Nanjunda, Pallavi, and Sumitra, and a bunch of yoga students