Our GiveIndia Listing for Indian Donors

If you reside in India and would like to make a safe and secure online donation to our organization, please see the following link:

http://www.giveindia.org/m-969-akhanda-seva-for-international-shanti-operation-shanti.aspx

GiveIndia is an NGO in India that helps other NGOs raise funds for the poorest of the poor in India by helping its users donate money to trustworthy charities. Charities undergo a rigorous due diligence process before being listed on the GiveIndia site.

Vinod, Devaraj, Kaleem, and Sharath picking turnips from our garden.

Art by Devaraj

Devaraj is one of our little boys who used to live on the streets and was orphaned in mid 2009 when his mom died. He and his brother Harish stay at Karunya Mane with us, and both are very well-behaved boys.

Devaraj

Devaraj likes to draw. Here's a picture of himself with his friend Shanthi.

Old friends from Canada

In January, Tomasz -- an old friend of Operation Shanti -- returned to India with a few of his friends from Canada to visit with the kids.

Tomasz and Tamara held a couple of fabulous fundraisers for us last year, and returned this year with lots of practical goodies for the kids!

Tomasz with the kids.

Eating lunch, KM style.

Anusha and Parveen meet their new friend.

Little Adarsh

Little Adarsh, who came to us last year, continues to win everyone's hearts. He's growing up quite nicely, eats well, plays hard, and wins everyone over with his cute smile and impeccable behavior.

Thanks to Dr. Ben Kim and his readers...

... for raising enough money to help us purchase a van for Karunya Mane. The van will come in handy in taking our 3- and 4-year-olds to nursery school when it rains, to pick up food rations in bulk, and for many other practical uses around the shelter.

As with many similar vehicles in India, the van runs on liquid propane gas, which is cleaner and a lot cheaper than gasoline.

Thanks again to Dr. Ben Kim and his readers at www.drbenkim.com!

Prasad's house

Four children were recently added to our Project Food and More program, which helps children orphaned by HIV/AIDS on a monthly basis. This brings the number of kids we help through this program to 51.

The first of the four, Prasad (names have been changed to protect their privacy), lives with his aunt in a village right outside of Mysore. His dad died in 2002, and his mom is too ill to take care of him and has been moved to a terminal care facility near the city. Prasad's aunt struggles to earn a living for her son, her husband (who suffered from a stroke three years ago) and Prasad.

The second child is Siddraju, who lives with his uncle in a village outside of Mysore. Siddraju's mom and dad both died in 2009 and his uncle earns about 2000 rupees a month, which is supposed to support the seven people in the household.

Ragu and Rashmi live with their aunt in a single room in Mysore. Their mom died in 2004 and their dad died in 1999. Their aunt rolls incense sticks for a living, and their uncle is a cook but he does not work consistently.

Christmas...

This year (2009) for Christmas, we decorated the building with some nice Christmas lights and put up a tree. There were even a few presents for the kids under the tree when they woke up in the morning!

Presents waiting for the kids when they woke up on Christmas day.

After breakfast and before their special Christmas lunch, the kids had fun opening presents. The girls got nail polish and clothes and bangles and the boys got clothes, a belt, and a hat.

Difficult children

This month, we had to expel one of our older girls. We learned that she had been stealing money from the security personnel as well as attempting to do the same from volunteers, and unfortunately this has been going on for some time. Since stealing is such a serious crime, and she had been warned several times -- and, equally importantly, our little ones view the older kids as role models -- we had to let her go.

She has gone back to her home in the slum, and from there we will help her continue her education. She will finish the school year at the current school, and we'll provide the transportation to get her to and from. Then, next year her mother will enroll her in a private school near her house, with our support.

Letting her go was an unfortunate and difficult decision, and even though she wanted to return to KM, everyone involved seems to be pleased with the resulting solution. It helps her continue her education and sets an example for others regarding behavior that is not tolerated at KM.

the ABC Shack

In early December, three volunteers had the idea and plan to paint our little shack in a very imaginative, educational way.

Venkatesh

The finished product!

The Kannada Alphabet

The kids helped with the painting, and even today some of the littlest ones stand in front of the walls, reciting the ABCs (both Kannada, the local language, and English).

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.

Morning chores

The older kids at Karunya Mane do their share of daily chores around the shelter in the morning before school, and help keep their home as clean and tidy as is possible (with 43 little ones running around). They wash the bathrooms, walk the dogs, clean their personal areas and our office, and make sure the little ones are ready for school.

Improvement

Deepti, a homeless street woman who came to us a few months ago, needed significant medical attention. A few years ago, Deepti was kidnapped and taken to a brothel in Mumbai, where she was forced to service numerous men each night. She managed to run away late one night, and make her way to the police station. She spent a few years at a shelter in Mysore, but somehow ended up back on the street.

Deepti has AIDS as well as tuberculosis, and a chronic infection in her cervix area. She is undergoing medication for her conditions.

Deepti takes her medicines regularly, and we're so excited because she is finally gaining weight! TB patients usually undergo significant weight loss before treatment, and HIV patients often experience wasting syndrome. Deepti was about 30 kg (66 lb) when she first came to us. After about a month on the TB meds, they begin to gain weight. For Deepti, that process took three months. She's just about finished with her TB treatment, and now weighs a much healthier 38 kg (84 lb).

Let's keep hoping that Deepti continues to improve and begins to enjoy a more peaceful and happy life at Karunya Mane.

Venkatesh, artist and athlete

Venkatesh recently won the top prize in an art competition at school. Just a few years ago, Venkatesh lived on the streets of Mysore with his mom and siblings and was in our street program. He enjoyed drawing and painting back then, and he still does today.

Getting a bath from mom in 2005, and doing some painting in our street program.

At Karunya Mane, Venkatesh takes twice-weekly karate lessons. He is also a great cricket player and all-around athlete, and recently won several prizes in athletic events at school.

October 2009 e-newsletter

Our October 2009 e-newsletter is out.

Karate with the little ones

At the same time that the big kids get their karate lessons on Tuesday and Sunday mornings, the little ones also have a lesson with the karate teacher.

Although really early in the morning (rise and shine at 5am), they do seem to enjoy their lessons!

Harish and the big guy

During the physical education period at school, a teacher plays outdoor games with the kids. Here, you can see Harish taking on his PE teacher...

We're guessing that Harish ran circles around poor teacher, who seemed a bit out of shape!

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!

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!

Darshan wants to show you the Dasara elephants

It's almost Dasara time in the city of Mysore, and the big, gentle elephants are out every day on their practice walk, preparing for the city-wide parade in a couple of weeks.

During Dasara, the kids get two weeks off from school.

Little Darshan showing you the elephants

Operation Shanti and the India Giving Challenge

Beginning on September 1, residents of India can donate to us through the web page below, as part of the GiveIndia India Giving Challenge. The fundraising effort runs from September 1 to October 10.

http://www.giveindia.org/give/pledgepage/operationshanti

Please send this link above to everyone that you know in India, or anyone who may know someone in India, such as colleagues at offices in India, who may be interested in donating to our cause.

The charities raising the most money or who have the highest number of unique donors will receive matching donations from GiveIndia, as follows:

Matching limit	Top Three Corporates by Funds Raised	Top Three NGOs by Funds Raised	Top Three Corporates by Number of Unique Donors	Top Three NGOs by Number of Unique Donors
First	Rs. 10 lacs	Rs. 8 lacs	Rs. 2.5 lacs	Rs. 2.5 lacs
Second	Rs. 6 lacs	Rs. 4 lacs	Rs. 1.5 lacs	Rs. 1.5 lacs
Third	Rs. 4 lacs	Rs. 3 lacs	Rs. 1 lac	Rs 1 lac
(Note: 1 lac ≈ US$2,000)

GiveIndia will match on a one-for-one basis the funds raised by the top charities.

If you're not a resident of India, you can still contribute to our efforts here.

Thanks!