It's strange isn't it? How those with the least to give often give the most?
Anitha lives in the village in India where I am from and where my parents still live. She has been helping my parents with housework and other small tasks for as long as I can remember and she has always been like a sister to me.
To this day (more than a decade after I left India), she excitedly cooks and brings over my favorite dessert (unni appam , banana fritters) whenever I visit home. She also unfailingly brings presents for my 4 year old daughter. It breaks my heart that she spends her meager income on us, but I wouldn't dare break her heart by refusing!
Anitha is a single mom with two kids (ages 12 and 15). She earns about $4/day doing whatever small jobs she can find to try and make ends meet. They live in a tiny one room shack, covered in tarps to (unsuccessfully) try to keep out the monsoon rains. The home has no secure walls or doors, leaving the family vulnerable to thieves and intruders. When it floods (which happens often), they are forced to seek refuge with relatives.
Despite these hardships, Anitha has always impressed upon her children the importance of education. The kids have studied hard, often by candlelight under an umbrella, and are doing really well in school.
Unfortunately, higher education is currently not within their meager means as they are having trouble even meeting the most basic needs of food and shelter. I have never met a more warm, loving, kind and generous family and I am hoping to help them get a proper roof over their heads and build a better future for their children. No amount is too small as every single dollar goes a very long way where they are from.
Anitha lives in the village in India where I am from and where my parents still live. She has been helping my parents with housework and other small tasks for as long as I can remember and she has always been like a sister to me.
To this day (more than a decade after I left India), she excitedly cooks and brings over my favorite dessert (unni appam , banana fritters) whenever I visit home. She also unfailingly brings presents for my 4 year old daughter. It breaks my heart that she spends her meager income on us, but I wouldn't dare break her heart by refusing!
Anitha is a single mom with two kids (ages 12 and 15). She earns about $4/day doing whatever small jobs she can find to try and make ends meet. They live in a tiny one room shack, covered in tarps to (unsuccessfully) try to keep out the monsoon rains. The home has no secure walls or doors, leaving the family vulnerable to thieves and intruders. When it floods (which happens often), they are forced to seek refuge with relatives.
Despite these hardships, Anitha has always impressed upon her children the importance of education. The kids have studied hard, often by candlelight under an umbrella, and are doing really well in school.
Unfortunately, higher education is currently not within their meager means as they are having trouble even meeting the most basic needs of food and shelter. I have never met a more warm, loving, kind and generous family and I am hoping to help them get a proper roof over their heads and build a better future for their children. No amount is too small as every single dollar goes a very long way where they are from.