Sithayammal is a very quiet girl who frequently speaks about being inspired by Tripura Foundation’s founder, Dr. Baskaran Pillai. She likes to sing and dance. She is a free spirit who spends her time practicing dance moves and listening to music. She is also well known in her village for her...
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...
We at Tripura Foundation receive many stories about brave, intelligent children facing and overcoming steep obstacles. This is one in which our heroine takes extra steps to create a bright future for herself, her family, her friends and her community. Like many HoPE Learning Center children, Divya...
In India, August 15th is a day of rebirth. At midnight on August 15, 1947, British rulers handed the country back to Indian leaders, ending a remarkable struggle that lasted 200 years. On this date, sovereign India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, unfolded the tricolor flag...
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...