Pallavi and Sumitra -- eight years later!

If you were with us in 2005 when we first started our work, you may remember Pallavi and Sumitra, two little girls we met on the streets of Mysore, where they lived with their moms. See how your support has helped change the lives of these two little street girls.

Before we met the girls in 2005, we ran into Sumitra one day in early 2004 -- her grannie was out begging with Sumirtra and, after we gave her a few rupees, she put Sumitra down on the sidewalk and scurried away for a few minutes.

Sumitra in 2004

Back in 2005, even when living on the street, Pallavi and Sumitra were happy little girls. They sure got dirty and were malnourished, but they smiled a lot and played with each other and were happy kids most of the time. They and their friends captured our hearts with their big smiles. 

Pallavi in 2005

Both Pallavi and Sumitra had tuberculosis as little girls. Sumitra was severely malnourished as a baby and got a viral infection that likely affected her brain. When they lived on the street, their moms struggled to feed them each day. They overcame their illnesses but the effects linger. Sumitra is small for her age and Pallavi suffered chronic ear infections. She recently needed to have both ears operated on. 

Pallavi and Sumitra in 2006

Back then, Pallavi and Sumitra were really good friends. They went everywhere together, played together, and slept on the same sidewalk at night. In 2008, they moved to our children's home together and, today, they remain good friends.

During the past five and a half years at KM, a lot has changed for Pallavi and Sumitra. After her ear operations, Pallavi's hearing noticeably improved and, with that, her performance in school. Both girls love karate and dancing classes at KM. They are a bit slower in school than our other kids, so they get one-on-two tutoring each day after school with their teacher, Chandrika Miss, who also talks to them about basic good habits like staying clean and neat and keeping their belongings tidy.

Pallavi in 2012

Sumitra in 2012

Sometimes we wonder what life would have been like for Pallavi and Sumitra had they not come to Karunya Mane to live--we can guess that life would have been difficult and they likely would not be in school right now. We're just happy for them that they are doing much better now. They also can't imagine going back to their lives on the street and tell us often that they like living at the "ashrama."

Sumitra and Pallavi with their tutor after school

We're pleased when their mothers refer other poor children to us because that tells us that they might be happy with how their girls are doing at Karunya Mane. Best of all, Pallavi and Sumitra get to be kids and are just enjoying their childhood, as all kids should.

We should all be like Kumari

Recently, a friend of Kumari said this about her: "She helps everybody and anybody. When I ran away from home and came to the street, Kumari watched over me. She made me sleep with her children on the sidewalk so that the men wouldn't bother me."

"I ask you one thing: do not tire of giving, but do not give your leftovers. Give until it hurts, until you feel the pain. If we worry too much about ourselves, we won't have time for others." --Mother Teresa 

We met Kumari in 2005 on the streets of Mysore, where she lived with her three kids. It took a year before she trusted us, but after that, she's become our most reliable and helpful street mother. She has helped us with the other mothers (keeping them in line, encouraging them to let us help their kids) and has referred other destitute kids to us. And, even though they were on the street for years, Kumari did the best she could with her kids.

Rachamma, Kumari, Prema, Sumitra, friend, Venkatesh in 2005.

When she was a little girl, Kumari also lived on the street with her mom Rachamma and her siblings. She understands the hardships and dangers of living on the street and has always told us she just does not want her kids to grow up like that. She was the first street mom to ask us to find shelter for her kids and get them off the street, and then she convinced the other street moms to let us put their kids into a residential school.

Giving Venkatesh a bath when they lived on the street, 2005.

One night in 2006, when we were on the street, Kumari asked us for money for her kids' dinner. We gave her 40 rupees, thinking that there were four of them, so 10 rupees each. She took 10 rupees and gave us back the 30 rupees, explaining "I can get rice from somebody but I just have to buy some sambar from the hotel (restaurant)."

To earn money, Kumari strings up and sold jasmine leis (malas) during the flower season, which lasts for about five months out of the year. In the off season, she cleans garlic for her friend, a street vendor, or sells vegetables.

Selling flowers, 2007. 

Selling flowers, 2007.

On another night in 2006, when one of our staff was about to walk to the children's ward at the hospital (quite a hike) where one of our other girls was admitted, Kumari had Prema, her oldest girl, to go with her so that she would not walk alone in the dark.

Peeling garlic, 2007.

Kumari with her oldest son, Venkatesh, in 2007. They are very close.
She lost an older son and her first husband a few years before we met her.

In mid-2007, we helped Kumari rent a house in a slum area where some of her friends live. She has lived there since and is very happy not to have to sleep on the street anymore.

Kumari at her house with her kids and neighborhood friends, 2007.

Kumari's second husband died in mid-2008 from tuberculosis. He was a difficult patient and preferred to drink rather than take his medication. We all tried to get him to continue his medication, but he refused and eventually died. Kumari contracted TB from him and was cured of it (she took her medication correctly), but suffered significant lung damage from the disease.

Kumari has a bulla (large air sac) in her lung and in 2012 her pulmonologist recommended a portable oxygen concentrator, which she uses at night at home when she sleeps. In early 2013, after several trips to the emergency room, the doctor also recommended a nebulizer for her because she was having problems properly using her inhaler. These life-saving treatments are helping to keep her alive, as the doctor said, the bulla is "like a time bomb, waiting to go off."

Kumari with her oxygen, 2010.

In mid-2010, when her street friend Shanti died, Kumari called us to come to the street because we had to take her friend's four children, who had nowhere else to go. Of course we did, and Suma, Manjula, Renuka, and Manu are now happy, healthy, and thriving at Karunya Mane.

Little Manu (2nd from bottom) with Mohan (bottom),
Kumari's youngest child, and their friends at Karunya Mane in 2012.

Kumari understands her health condition and she is careful. She visits her kids once a month at Karunya Mane and calls them every Sunday. Her kids are doing well and are growing up nicely. Venkatesh is at home with mom, and he helps with the household chores because she cannot exert herself physically.

Rachamma, Prema, Sumitra, Mohan, Kumari, 2012.

Kumari has just a second grade education, and her son recently taught her to write her name in Kannada. Yet, this woman with little to her name is known by everyone in her community as someone who will help others as she can, with food and temporary shelter in her small house. She's an example for all of us to follow.

If you'd like to help Kumari, her ongoing monthly expenses are as follows:

• medication $24 (Rs. 1200)
• rent $7 (Rs. 350)
• electricity bill from oxygen concentrator $10 (Rs. 500)
• monthly pocket money $16 (Rs. 800)

Related posts:
http://operationshanti.blogspot.in/2009/08/kumari-and-life-changes.html
http://operationshanti.blogspot.in/2012/02/kumaris-dilemma-and-your-assistance.html

Rachamma

We met Rachamma on the street in 2005, where she lived for many years with her kids and grandkids -- Venkatesh, Prema, Sumitra, Mohan, Latha, Jyothi, and Nanjunda.

Nanjunda enjoying lunch from his grannie Rachamma

 Today, most of her grandkids live at Karunya Mane. Nanjunda attends St. Francis School, and is doing very well in the English curriculum. He also stays in the school dormitory with the sisters who take care good of him. 

Rachamma
She's had a hard life but has always taken good care of her grandchildren

Rachamma visited Nanjunda at the dorm today and brought him a nice meal of rice and chicken curry, which he ate happily. Nanjunda's mother is very unreliable and unstable, and Rachamma and his Aunty Kumari have been the consistent support in his life. He gets temperamental and moody at times, not surprising given the torture he went through while living on the street with his mom, but otherwise he is doing well today and is much happier.

Hanging out with growing kids

As all kids do, ours are growing up quite nicely. Here are pictures of a few of them taken recently, while we were all hanging out one afternoon at Karunya Mane.

Harish

Mohan, Prema, and Darshan

Shanti, Prema, Asha, Shwetha, and Sumitra

Venkatesh and Mohan (Darshan and Adarsh in the background)

Kumari and life changes

Kumari, one of our long-time street moms, has been staying at Karunya Mane as she suffers from lung damage. After a recent ten-day stay at a local hospital to recover from a serious case of pneumonia and hypoxia, she came to KM to live. During her first month after being discharged from the hospital, Kumari needed to be on oxygen, and it was a challenge for her to adjust.

While on the street, Kumari sold vegetables or made flower leis, and she worked hard to earn decent wages during the flower season. She was one of the first women we met on the street in 2005, and she did her best to care for her kids even in that challenging environment. See a brief interview with Kumari in our Operation Shanti Introduction Video.

Kumari helped us tremendously through our Street People Program, referring orphans and other destitute children to us and trying to ensure that the other women in our program behaved properly. Kumari has always been reliable, a straight-talker, engages in no drama or B.S., and only cares about the well-being of her kids.

Kumari at KM with little Mohan, her 3-year-old son, and little Adarsh

Kumari, little Nanjunda (nephew), and Sumitra (daughter)

during a visit with grannie Rachamma

The doctors say that Kumari's lungs won't improve and the goal is to prevent them from worsening. A clean-air environment can help immensely. Unfortunately, the pollution in the city would be too much for her lungs.

Her condition has improved a bit, and she doesn't need the oxygen as much, but her right lung "crackles" when the doctor listens to her breathing, so we are encouraging her to stay at KM. She can watch her kids -- Mohan, Sumitra, Prema, and Venkatesh -- at KM grow up, attend school, and enjoy their childhood.

Cute kids coming home from school

... in case you were jonesing for some cute kid photos -- here are some of our kids returning from kindergarten class.

Vishnu, Sumitra, and Shweta

(can you believe that Vishnu is in kindergarten???)

Anusha and Vinuta

little Pooja and Swarana

Tunmai!

Imran and little Vishnu again

"Little Girl" by Deborah Crooks

A friend of Operation Shanti donated a song to us. We've used it here:

Project Dog House

Another summer project for our older kids was building a dog house for our three dogs, who came with our kids from the street. Here's what they came up with. Not bad for using extra materials around the facility and a bit of cement -- and all for under $10!

Mom Maggie and her puppies arrived last year. Puppies Gundha and Shirley are now fully grown. Having pets around teaches the kids not to beat them and hit them, and to take good care of their animals.

The older kids are also responsible for washing and walking the dogs when they aren't studying. Considering our dogs are street mutts, they sure are nice and clean. And friendly!

Sumitra, Devaraj, Manikanta, Jyothi, Netra, and Pallavi
hanging out in front of the dog house.

Milk!

As part of their nutrition program, the kids at KM get a glass of milk every morning before school and every afternoon when returning from school. Also added to the milk are a couple of scoops of protein powder for an extra nutrition boost.

Saroja pouring Sreenevasa his milk while Harish
helps scoop in the protein powder

Little Sumitra getting her glass from Saroja... mmm, looks yummy!

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."

Gifts from Sweden

This year Christmas was a little late at Karunya Mane (January), but it was quite special, as the kids got to celebrate with special presents sent by schoolkids from the Sodra Angby Skola in Sweden.

Sumitra got a doll and a photo of her new friend in Sweden

Parveen and Vishnu

Surya

Mr. Joseph coordinated the gifts with Sweden and with the yoga
community, as he does every year for several orphanages in the area

Latta

Elena and Henrick introduced the idea of sharing Christmas with India to the school:

"We've had a really fun time with the kids and their teacher on this project. Henrik started by giving the class a slideshow of India and discussing different aspects of the culture. A week later Henrik and I went together to the class to answer more questions about India and for me to help them translate their letter text into English, working with the kids through the English and allowing them to tell me how things are said in English. We then helped them to create their cards. Finally, today, we went and collected the gifts they chose and wrapped with their parents help (we asked them to give things that are meaningful to them). After dealing with the gifts, I led the class in a playful yoga session and we discussed a bit about the history and benefits of yoga. Some of the kids have already found and checked out Operation Shanti's website and we encouraged their teacher to let those kids who have visited your website to tell the other kids about it so they can find their way to it to learn more about the kids over there."

Art with Lise and Tom

Sunday art continues with our current volunteers, Lise and Tom, and Crystal. They've been engaging the kids in all kinds of creative activities...

Tom with the kids while painting hand puppets. Vishnu (in orange shirt) had a great time painting his little white cup red!

Sumitra concentrating...

Vishnu showing Arvind how to clean the brush in the water cup.

Manikanta, Jeevan, and Lise

If you'd like to donate art supplies to Operation Shanti's kids in India, please see our friend Tracy's blog here (see bottom of page) for sending art supplies to her. She's holding a donation drive in anticipation of her upcoming trip to India in early 2009 -- and plans to carry with her a suitcase full of supplies for the kids (as she carried a suitcase full of shoes for the kids in January 2008!).