Manikanta passes the SSLC exam!

We've known Manikanta since 2006. He lived on the streets of Mysore, where he hung out with his friends Venkatesh, Sreenivasa, Nanjunda, Lokesh, and Harish. When we opened our children's home, he wanted to come to stay with us even though he had never attended school, and he was nine years of age.

Manikanta in 2009

Manikanta had a rough start to his education, ran away from Karunya Mane several times over the years, and often talked about going back to the streets to live because he missed his "freedom." But he stuck with it, and we stuck with him, and today we learned that he passed the pressure-filled SSLC (10th grade) exam. He'll now continue on to 11th and 12th grades (called Pre-University College here, or PUC). 

Manikanta in 2014

We are so happy for Manikanta, who at times seems a bit lost and lacking direction in comparison to our other former street boys who are finding their paths away from the streets a little more confidently. Manikanta also misses his mother, but no none has any idea where she may be. Usually, our other moms or friends on the street have information on one another, but nobody has seen Manikanta's mom for years.

Congratulations to Manikanta!

On another note, to all of the parents out there, we hope that whatever the outcome of your child's SSLC or PUC exams, you are encouraging and supportive. Too many kids are committing suicide over lower than hoped for exam results because of the pressures they face to get high scores and, thus, spots in prestigious colleges -- such tragedies are simply unnecessary.

The end of another school year

School is almost out for the 2013-2014 year! Thirty-six of our kids have finished their exams and are now enjoying their summer vacation. Eight of our kids at St. Francis take their last test today. Everyone is eagerly awaiting results, to be announced in mid-April.

Next year, our current seventh graders will change campuses to attend high school (!). They are really excited, but are also a bit sad to leave the primary and middle school teachers that they've known for six years.

7th grade graduates: Mamatha, Pooja, Prema

7th grade graduates: Vinod and Pavan

Two of our tenth graders start the very important SSLC examinations today. We are crossing our fingers that they do well -- passing the SSLC exam means continuing on to 11th grade. Many students, particularly from poor backgrounds, fail the exam and don't bother to try again. If our two kids fail, they will take the exam again. Today, having an SSLC certificate is required for getting a driver's license and most jobs in India.

Our two 10th graders have overcome many challenges to get to where they are now.

Suma came to us three-and-a-half years ago at the age of 13 after her mother died, and she struggled in school. When she lived on the streets with her mom and siblings, she sporadically attended a government school in the city that had four teachers for 1st to 7th grades.

Suma

Manikanta is a former street boy whom we've known for nine years. On the street, he lived with his friends and sniffed glue everyday. After coming to KM, he stopped that habit but behavioral effects lingered. He works hard at his schoolwork, and we are so happy that he's still in school and hasn't gone back to his former life on the street.

Manikanta in 2009

Sreenivasa just completed his 12th grade exams this week. Sreeni is another former street boy who grew up on the streets of Mysore with Manikanta and their friends. Sreeni first attended school when he came to stay with us at KM in 2008, starting in third grade at the age of 12. He's worked really hard to catch up as best as he could, and has grown and matured into a solid, reliable young man.

Sreenivasa (white shirt) in 2005

Sreenivasa in 2010 (third from left)

Results for the 10th and 12th grade exams will be out in May. We'll let you know how everyone did!

Kids sure grow up quickly!

Pavankumar S.C.! Boy wonder!

Pavan came to Karunya Mane in June 2010. He lived with his mom in a poor village near Mandya. As a single parent with significant health issues, mom had difficulty raising her only child. Dad abandoned the family a long time ago.

Pavan in 2010

When Pavan came to KM, he had been attending 6th grade in a government school in his village. However, when we tested his reading and writing abilities, we found that he could not even write the Kannada alphabet. 

Pavan and mom in 2012

We enrolled Pavan in the nearby private school that our other kids attended and put him in 4th grade even though he should have been in 1st. Like all our other kids, Pavan got tutoring everyday after school for two hours.

Pavan was also malnourished and very skinny when he came to Karunya Mane, so we gave him extra nutrition, including milk, eggs, and multivitamins.

Over the past three and a half years, Pavan has demonstrated that he's quite a smart boy and just a really good kid. He is well-mannered, listens to his elders, contributes to a positive environment at Karunya Mane, and participates actively in all of his extracurricular activities. He's often selected for school performances, like the one below (that's him at the top of the pyramid).

Pavan in a school performance

And, now, after three years, Pavan is ranked in the top 5 in his 7th grade class! We are very lucky to be able to care for a great kid like Pavan, who came from such abject poverty and is proving himself to be quite an accomplished boy.

Pavan in December 2013

Our house mothers provide written evaluations of each child every year. On Pavan's recent report, the house mother noted that Pavan is very special and, with good guidance and support, will grow up to be an upstanding young man in society.

Give a kid the opportunity to achieve his or her full potential -- it's the most wonderful thing you can do!

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

Sometimes we get lucky

Recently, when we were distributing our care packages for our Project Food and More effort at the HIV clinic, a girl walked up to us and asked for some help.

Sowmya lives near the clinic with her parents in a one-room rented house, and her dad takes day labor jobs in the area. He's got chronic back pain so can't always work.

Sowmya

Anyway, we asked her what she needed. Sowmya said that she needed money for her school fees for this year. She started in 12th grade (PUC 2) in the science curriculum (one of the most difficult in the Indian education system) this year and seriously wants to become an engineer. Her family had no money to pay her tuition this year, which was Rs. 7000 (US$140). She gets a discount because of her caste and low income status.

We help a lot of really great kids, and when someone like Sowmya comes out of the blue for help, it's a real treat for us. She needs assistance (we saw her one-room house, small but clean, and this is where she studies), speaks almost fluent English, is an excellent student, and is polite and quite pleasant to talk to.

She's clear with her intent -- we said to her, "engineering jobs aren't that easy to get these days." She responded, "I know. But I want to try."

Sowmya's parents, Dilappa and Rathna

Who paid her fees last year? She said that her brother helped her, who is in the police force up north, but he had family issues this year so couldn't help out.

She showed us her grades from last year. She did quite well and certainly has the potential to excel. All of these factors told us that yes, this girl sure could use the help and would make excellent use of our support.

Dad got some great free treatment for his back from one of our directors in India, who is a doctor. And Sowmya's now in school and studying hard. She paid Rs. 4000 for her school fees and used Rs. 2800 for her textbooks. If you'd like to contribute to her education, she'll need to pay the balance of Rs. 3000 (US$60) in a few months.

We'll keep you posted on Sowmya's progress during the year!

School grades!

The kids at Karunya Mane just got their final grades for the school year (2012-2013, which ended in March). Here are a few highlights.

Adarsh, who had to repeat lower kindergarten, received all As and A+s this year and he'll be going to upper kindergarten this coming year (June 2013 to March 2014). Yay!

Surya did very well again in his elite English-based school, St. Francis. He ended up in 4th place in his 3rd grade class!

Surya (left) with his little brother Darshan

Shilpa, our girl who came to Karunya Mane at age six with no schooling, got an A+ average for the second year in a row!

Shilpa

Latha continues to struggle in school. She was allowed to pass 4th grade even though her scores did not merit the promotion because Indian law forbids schools from failing children, regardless of how badly they perform in school. We are currently searching for a teacher who can homeschool Latha for this coming school year. If you know an interested teacher candidate, please let us know.

Latha and her little sister Jyothi

Divya and Vijayalakshmi did very well this year, their first year in English medium (5th grade), with overall average grades of A. We thought they did well considering going from a Kannada-based curriculum to an English-based curriculum is like going from a French- to an English-based curriculum.

 

Divya and Vijayalakshmi

Next year, Pooja and Prema will skip a grade and go from 5th to 7th grade because they are older than their peers in class (they missed several years of school when they lived on the street and in the slum). They both did well in 5th grade, averaging A grades, and understand they have to work extra hard next year.

Arabia did very well in 4th grade, scoring A+s and As throughout the year, and will be going to 6th grade this coming year. Go Arabia!

Our oldest girl, Asha, passed 12th grade and will be starting her bachelor's degree this June. She's in the process of applying to colleges in Mysore -- stay tuned for more!

Asha

Harish, our 10th grader, also passed the nationwide 10th grade exam, and will start PUC 1 (11th grade) in late May. Harish, who lived on the streets before coming to Karunya Mane, went from 1st grade to 10th grade in five years. He started his education far behind his age and has worked hard during the past six years to graduate 10th grade this year.

Harish (left) with Manikanta, who passed 9th grade, and Sreenivasa, who passed 11th grade.

Our kids averaged an A grade, and they are all continuing their studies over the summer vacation with daily two-hour tutoring at Karunya Mane. The kids work hard at their schoolwork and really want an education. Let's wish all of our kids another excellent school year!

If you'd like to make a donation to help us cover our kids' school expenses, please do so at Donate Now! Expenses for one year of schooling are approximately US$92. Thanks for your continued support!

iPads? iPads!

Several generous friends donated two iPads to Karunya Mane -- one for the boys and one for the girls. The kids just love their iPads!

Surya with Mohan (left) and Darshan (right)

Even our house mothers are addicted... they've discovered the Internet and are able to help the older kids with homework projects by looking up information using Google.

In general, the girls like to browse and learn about different places and Indian holidays. The boys are obsessed with picture of tigers, snakes, and creepy crawly creatures.

During the summer holiday (April and May), the kids are enjoying daily time on the iPads, which have opened up a whole world to them -- safely, of course, through a child-safe browser!

If you have recommendations for great educational apps that we could download, let us know!

...seen on a billboard (an education-oriented billboard!)

Outside its school property, St. Francis School installed a billboard featuring their top students---including our own Surya!

go Surya!

Pavan Kumar

Pavan Kumar, one of our older boys, came to Karunya Mane in June 2010. When he arrived, he could not even read or write in Kannada, even though he supposedly just finished up fourth grade.

Pavan has no siblings, and lived with his mom in Mandya, about a two-hour drive from Mysore. Pavan's dad left them years ago and hasn't bothered to return. Pavan is a great kid, respectful, happy, and kind -- he just had no support at home because his mom worked, and he was often left alone.

Pavan started at Deepa School with our other kids in June 2010, and spent the first half of the year in 1st grade, trying to at least get a good foundation in the basics. He was then moved to 4th grade because of his age, and struggled. About midway through this year, now in 5th grade, Pavan finally started to catch up and has been doing quite well for most of the year.

Pavan on parent's visiting day with his grandmother, mom, and little cousin.

Pavan is also a funny kid; he likes to play around and dress up, like below -- he actually went to school dressed up like and elderly village woman! Everyone got a good laugh.

Pavan as old village woman, he's even got the seating posture correct!

Next year, Pavan will be in 6th grade. Let's hope that he'll continue his excellent progress in school. It is nice to watch kids who aren't able to read or write finally begin to improve in school and, most importantly, see their enthusiasm for school grow in the process. All they need is the right support and guidance. Many thanks to Deepa School's patient teachers and Pavan's after-school tutor, Jyothi!

The Numbers

A recent article in a local paper talked about the problems that children in India and other countries face, and the staggering statistics.

Translation:

Increasing Evils towards Children

     In India, thousands (lakhs) of children are deprived of their fundamental rights. Everyday, they are exposed to exploitation, injustice, and evils. Many children are seen in cities working as scrap collectors, beggars, and coolies in hotels and factories, and at bus stands and railway stations.

     Around the world, more than 1 billion (100 crore, 1 crore = 10 million) children work on the streets. Children are used in criminal activities like begging, prostitution, and selling illegal substances, all of which are very harmful to a child’s psyche. Such children have to deal with fear, violence, insomnia, an inferiority complex, and suicidal tendencies.

     Our society is embarrassed because of the poverty-stricken parents who sell their children and because of the teachers who sexually, physically, and verbally abuse students. An alarming percentage of Indian girls below 18 years of age are sexually exploited. Pressure from family members and caregivers forces children to sacrifice their natural instincts and give up their innocent childhood.

     India has more than four million (40 lakhs) child prostitutes. UNICEF reports state that 147.5 million (14.75 crores) children in India are homeless and stay in temples and public spaces. Thirty-three million (3.3 crores) children in India have never seen a school and 50,000 to 60,000 children are infected with HIV. According to the 2001 Karnataka census, the state has more than 350,000 (3.5 lakhs) child workers. The international publication Lancet stated that, in the past 20 years, one million (10 lakhs) female children have been killed because of female infanticide.

     Child marriages, child abuse, injustice, child labor, prostitution, criminal activities, and female infanticide have affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of children in India. We say that we have no actionable laws in place to solve children’s problems. However, child offenders must be tracked down and caught, and measures must be taken to prevent children from being involved in criminal activities. Programs must be put in place that constantly remind us of the problems that these children face, and we must help solve these problems. Governmental and non-governmental organizational involvement and cooperation is essential.

Original article:

Surya!

One year ago, we talked about three of our children at Karunya Mane who were to attend an English medium school in the area. It was sort of an experiment, since we weren't sure what to expect when enrolling former street/slum children in a middle- and upper-class school like this. The curriculum is more rigorous and the fees are relatively high.

http://operationshanti.blogspot.com/2010/04/three-little-ones-to-cbse-school.html

Unfortunately, two of our three children struggled a bit this past year at St. Francis. Lalitha and Shwetha weren't able to show enough improvement in their performance throughout the year to merit continuing at St. Francis -- they tried their best but sometimes it's just not meant to be -- and they will attend Deepa Primary School next year with the rest of our kids.

Little Surya, on the other hand, was ranked #1 in his first grade class at St. Francis for the entire school year. He now speaks almost fluent English and earned *SO* many extracurricular awards during the school day ceremony! We are very proud of him, not just for the excellent grades but also for his outstanding behavior.

Surya in his school uniform

Thanks so much to Surya's sponsor for helping to pay for his educational expenses for the coming year.

Next year, we'll enroll two more of our top performing kindergarteners at St. Francis. These two girls, Sowmya and Vinuta, did very well in kindergarten this past year and their teachers say that they are very bright and demonstrate an interest in learning. Coincidentally, Sowmya is Surya's little sister. 

Vinuta, Surya, and Sowmya at KM

Let's wish all of our kids an excellent 2011-2012 school year!

The School Line(s)

The 2010/2011 school year is in full swing, and if you've wondered what it's like trying to get 54 kids out the door for school every morning, on time, dressed properly, and with their school bags, books, pencils and pens, lunch boxes, socks, shoes, ties, and belts... well, organized chaos might be a good description.

We send 54 kids out the door each school day: three little ones in pre-nursery school, 17 children in kindergarten, and 34 kids in first through seventh grades.

A few of the older girls: Divya, Arabia, Shanthi, Prema, and Pooja

The Lines (left for kindergarten, right for 1st to 7th)

Devaraj, Nanjunda and Sadif (first graders)

the "skippers"

Our older kids (aged 12 to 16) are behind a couple of years in school because they either missed a few years when living on the streets, or went to substandard schools and their attendance was spotty.

After a couple of years at their current private school, four of our oldest boys skipped a grade this year. Last year they proved that they were ready to skip a grade, as their study habits have improved tremendously and they are getting excellent grades.

Sreenivas, Harish, Kaleem, and Venkatesh waiting to head to school

Kaleem, age 15, skipped sixth grade and is now in seventh. Venkatesh (14) and Sreenivas (16) skipped fifth grade and are now in sixth grade. And Harish (12), who skipped fourth grade, is now in fifth.

They had to study hard during their summer break with daily tutoring sessions and, although they sometimes complained about having to go to "class" every day during the summer, their hard work paid off. On their first tests this past month, they all scored no less than B+s, with most of their scores as either As or A+s.

Three little ones to CBSE school...

India has two different curriculum that schools can follow -- the State syllabus or the CBSE syllabus. The CBSE, or the Central Board of Secondary Education, syllabus is the central government's educational curriculum. Students under the CBSE curriculum face a more rigorous program at all grades, and the majority of the learning is done in English. CBSE is accessible primarily to children from middle- and upper-class backgrounds, as these schools are mostly private and are quite expensive -- anywhere between ten and twenty times the cost of our kids' current private school fees.

(So... if after reading this blurb, you're interested in supporting one of our CBSE-bound kids next year, let us know! Two are already sponsored, and we're looking for a third sponsor to cover the first year tuition of approximately 16,000 rupees or US$350.)

As such, lower-class and destitute but talented kids rarely have the chance to attend CBSE schools. Of the CBSE schools that we talked with in Mysore, none has ever admitted a child with a background similar to that of our kids at Karunya Mane.

Nevertheless, we're going to try to do something different next year and admit three of our top-performing little ones to a CBSE school. We believe that, after a period of adjustment to the stricter, more rigorous curriculum, they will thrive and do well in such an environment.

Our three little ones heading to CBSE school are Surya, Shwetha, and Lalitha. Lalitha, who just finished nursery school, has been admitted to kindergarten. Surya and Shwetha will take the entrance exam on April 17th, for admission to 1st and 2nd grades, respectively. They are currently getting tutoring during the summer break (April and May) by one of the teachers working at the school.

Little Surya, below, studies very well and his overall behavior is excellent -- he is mature, composed, quiet, very responsible for his age, and extremely thoughtful in all of his actions. His tutor says that he's incredibly smart and picks up new concepts immediately. It's amazing to remember that he spent his early years sitting with his mom on the streets while she begged.

Surya

Shwetha will start 2nd grade next year, and is, like Surya, a very well-behaved child. She comes from a broken, abusive home environment, but mom has remained a loving and caring supporter of her kids throughout their family turmoil. Shwetha washes her own clothes every morning and is always willing and ready to help someone else whenever she can. Shwetha did well in school this year, and loves her new CBSE tutor.

Shwetha

Lalitha

Little Lalitha will start kindergarten at the CBSE school. This past year, she attended nursery school and after-school tutoring with three other little boys from KM (Gowtham, Mohan, and big Darshan) -- and in that group, she proved herself to be quite independent and the unquestionable leader.

Next year, as our next set of nursery school kids (currently, Umesh, Adarsh, and little Darshan) work their way through their first year of being in a school environment, we'll evaluate them to determine who may be a good fit for admission to the CBSE school. We also plan to admit to CBSE 1st grade some of the kids finishing up kindergarten next school year, as a few of the little girls in that group are quite sharp, like Sowmya (Surya's sister), Jyothi, Tunmaya, and Parveen... we'll keep you posted on their progress.

The risk, of course, is that our kids won't "fit in" given the disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds that they come from. But we are confident that, with the right guidance and support, they can break through these barriers and thrive in their new school.

Without a doubt, they deserve the opportunity. Let's wish Surya and Shwetha luck on the entrance exams on the17th!

What do the little ones do all day?

Wonder what the little ones do all day?

To start with, four of our tiny tots, Mohan, Lalitah, Gowtham, and Darshan, attend pre-nursery school from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm each day. Adarsh, the fifth little one, is two years old and starts school next year.

Lalitha, Gowtham, and Darshan

First they take a bath and eat their breakfast. Then they get ready for school, by brushing their teeth, getting dressed, and combing their hair. Next, they get a ride to nursery school since they are small and it's a little far for them to walk.

At 12:30pm, they return for lunch, a little nap and playtime, and then tutoring with Vaibao! Vaibao spends 15 minutes with each teaching them to write the letters of the alphabet. He also sings songs with them and tries his best to get them to sit still for a few minutes.

Darshan seems to be listening intently to Vaibao.

Then decides that showing teacher his toy cell phone is more interesting!

School grades and marks cards

Here's how our kids did in school this past year:

Second Report Cards

Second quarter report cards came out for our kids. Most did very well again, and we hope that the focus on education and after-school tutoring is having an impact.

Big Pooja, again, got straight A's, as did quiet Surya.

Prema, finally cleared of her chronic ear infections, scored solid B+'s in all subjects again.

Manikanta got an A+ in math, and improved in his other subjects.

Venkatesh got almost straight A's despite being a non-stop talker in tutoring class. Ahem.

The other kids all got a mix of A's and B's, most showing improvements in their grades from last quarter, and with a few C's mainly in English -- English will be a focus during their summer break, when their tutoring sessions will continue.

First report cards...

The kids received their first report cards a couple of weeks ago, reflecting the first three months' performance at school. Highlights:

Pooja received straight A's!

Venkatesh received all A's except for two B+!

Prema, who fought chronic ear infections for years that affected her learning, received straight B+'s!

Manikanta and Kaleem received a couple of A's, mostly B's, and one C+ (in English) -- so they're getting extra English tutoring on Sundays.

Considering this is Manikanta's (age 9) first time ever in a classroom, and that just a few months ago he wandered the streets and sniffed shoe polish with his friends, we're quite pleased to see him make such efforts in school.

The rest of the kids did equally well, with the majority of the grades being A's and B's, and just a few C's.

Our three older kids, who all were put back to 5th grade, struggle a bit more with their schoolwork, as it is the first time in their lives that they have had to really study... but their teachers say they work very hard and are interested in their schoolwork.

Considering that for some this is their first year in a structured school environment, and that the others are still overcoming their years of developing bad study habits while living on the streets, the kids are showing great effort in their schoolwork. KM, with its excellent staff and after-school teachers, and healthy and structured living environment, seems to be having a positive effect on the kids. A good start.

Update on tutors

After working with the kids for a couple of weeks, our after-school tutors seem to be enjoying their work. The tutors also create tests every week to measure the kids' progress.

Yesterday, Chaitra, one of our tutors said, "The kids are wonderful, I really enjoy working with them because they are so enthusiastic to learn! Especially that Sreenevasa, he's loves school."

Chaitra tutors the kids in 2nd and 3rd grades: Sreenevasa, Sharath, Pooja, Kaleem, and Harish.

We'll also be getting a tutor for Reeta and Baby, both age 20. The two women expressed interest in furthering their education. For Reeta, this means starting around 9th grade, and Baby starts from scratch, as she was never given the chance to go to school. It's always nice to see the kids and women want to improve themselves, not because someone tells them to, but because they want it for themselves.

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