Rathisha is a typical fifth grader from Karaikalmedu. She has five best friends. She most enjoys playing volleyball and carom between studies. Her favorite color is ocean blue. She excels in most academic subjects, especially English, but this hasn’t always been the case. When Rathisha first...
Thanks in part to Tripura Foundation sponsors and teachers, Babu is about to successfully complete his eighth-grade education this academic year. When Babu was enrolled in our HoPE Learning Center last year, he was labelled a “dull student.” His grades were far below average and he did not...
Diwali is like Christmas in India but with some unique twists. It is “The Festival of Lights,” which commemorates the triumph of knowledge over ignorance. It is an occasion of feasts and festivities, when people gather together to eat and receive new clothes to wear during the upcoming...
Until 7th grade, Aarthy was, at best, an average student. She is the daughter of an unskilled construction site laborer who struggles to keep food on the family table. Like most of her classmates, Aarthy has struggled with challenges and hardships. Yet, since joining her local HoPE Learning...
Kalaiarasu was ten years old when he was diagnosed with bone cancer. What started as a minor pain in his joints soon led him to being hospitalized three days a week. Despite pain and suffering, he has a story to tell about all the love, care and support given to him within his HoPE Learning...
Like many HoPE Center children, Saravanan and his older sister have laborer parents who struggle every day to put food on the table. They are unable to overcome their conditions and escape poverty for many reasons, the biggest being that they are both illiterate. Saravanan is fortunate to be able...
Though we often share stories about HoPE Center children who do not have parents, or whose parents are abusive or alcoholic, many others come from families who are caring and intact… but also coping with extreme poverty. This is the case with a 9th grade student named Sripriya and her...
Karuppaiya lost his wife a few years ago. He lives alone in a small decrepit hut and receives a government stipend of approximately Rs. 1000. This is not enough to cover the costs of daily rations of watery rice. In addition, Karuppaiya walks half a mile to fetch water because there is not a...
Chandra and her husband do not have children to look after them. Other relatives deserted them because they suffer from Leprosy. Due to long-term illness, neither can return to work as laborers. All they can do is beg for alms here and there to survive. They live in a single room built by the...
Tamil is a seventh grader who lives with his parents and three siblings. He is a loving child with many fine qualities, but, for good reasons, he still occasionally struggles with trust issues. In addition to enduring seizures and a speech impediment, Tamil’s family life has been tremendously...
Palanisamy, from Pachapalayam, India, an active child with strong social values, shared with his HoPE Learning Center teachers his concern for the village bus stop. It was run down, dirty and had become a shelter for stray cattle over the past few years. When the teachers asked him what he thought...
Santhosh is a seventh grader who lives with poor, elderly grandparents because his parents died shortly after he was born. Even though he barely has any food to eat, he has great compassion for his animals, and he aspires to become a police officer so that he can fight the wave of crime that has...