Saturday, March 5, 2011

WELCOME, ARJUN AND KARAN

In 2009, these brothers and their mother moved from Mumbai to Pune in search of a better life. Life, however, has not been easier for them since. Their mother works gathering and selling scrap metal and earns around €1 a day. In order to earn a living, she leaves their shack early in the morning and comes back late at night, so the children have had to rely on their neighbours to get some food. Before joining Yashodhara, neither of them was enrolled in school.

Arjun and Karan arrived in Yashodhara while the other children were in school, a bit shy and unsure. But when they went through the house and saw their new beds and lockers, the expression on their faces began to change. Then their housemates came home and they all started talking and playing straight away. Meeting their new friends was a joyful explosion.

Young Karan is charming and uninhibited. He has a curious nature and has started school and support classes with keen interest. Arjun gets along with everyone and has adapted to Yashodhara as if he had been there a long time already.

For them, their new home is a chance to grow and develop; for us, their presence is a new gift to be treated with care and respect.