Karthik Shekar

 joined Ankur in September 2005, when he was four and half years old. He is the eldest of three brothers. His father, Shekar, is a cycle mechanic who works on days that he is sober and not drunk. His mother, Uma earns about INR 1000/- a month, working as a domestic help for 6-8 hours a day. Luckily, she gets to bring home leftover food from her employers’ homes. She could earn more, but her employers are not happy having her two toddlers tag along.

Karthik’s home is a 6ft x 8ft shack made out of asbestos sheets, with a single bare electric bulb. An open drain runs just outside the home, where the kids spend most of their time.

After 3 years at Ankur, Karthik now attends a prestigious English medium school of Bangalore. His teachers in several PTA meetings and his results indicate that he is very bright and intelligent student. He is now trying to improve his English communication skills to be on par with his peers. He is on par with the other students in his class with respect to academics and other activities.
We at Ankur hope, Karthik will do well through school and college and get a white collared job. And this will enable him to give a decent home to his parents with fresh food, a soft mattress, and a clean toilet (unlike the one they share with the rest of the slum) and will take care of the medical needs of his family.

And his time at Ankur will enable him to make his siblings understand the importance of hard work, keeping a job and staying off vices, and help them get into decent jobs, too. We hope he will educate his nieces and nephews along with his children in schools like his.

Karthik from Ankur, will change so many lives...