Walking down the roads of Doddagubbi you’ll find an old village. The shops there are old and have served many people over the years. The living quarters of people are made of mud and stones with thatched roofs. The residents smile as you walk by. This is the neighbourhood of Thejas.
You’ll find a father who had to undergo two surgeries which left him bedridden for over two years. With assistance from a local doctor he slowly and painfully regained his strength and with utter determination he began to walk again. With no other source of income and having to take care of a 5 member family, this man decided to buy a second hand auto-rickshaw with the help of a loan and earn his daily bread. With all his energy focused on earning money he pays off the EMI. But what he earns isn’t enough to take care of his family.
You’ll find a mother who is a diabetic; she has no money to pay for her medication. All she can do is take precautions. She has been the pillar of strength when things have been difficult in this home. She works during the day at a nearby school and brings in a small income which helps in keeping the fire burning.
Unable to afford to send their children to school, the parents are forced to deal with the guilt that nags at them every time they look into their children’s faces. With no education, these little ones are likely destined to follow in their parents’ footsteps and end up in a place like this, if they survive at all.
Look a little more and you’ll find their son, Thejas. He wakes up early in the morning, gets his dad’s auto rickshaw cleaned and attends to his daily chores at home. He helps around at home as much as possible as he has seen the hardship his family has undergone. Helping at home makes the burden lighter for his mother and father. But what else can he do?
YuvaLok has given this child hope. He has life to look forward to now. We took him in, provided books, a bag, clothes and two nutritious meals each day. And Thejas has been grateful.
He is presently in the 8th Standard and is saddened by the plight of his dad and his family condition, but this deterrent has been his motivation to do well in his academics and pursue his ambition to be a Chartered Accountant someday. His desire is to do professionally well and see that his family is well in all respects. He looks forward to the days when poverty will be history in his family.
His teacher talks highly of him as a hard worker, very disciplined and he is focused on attaining his goal. This is not a desire that has dawned on him recently, right from his early days in school he has worked hard and it has paid off. He has always been either 1st or 2nd in class. In fact on his father’s advice he has refused to take on leadership roles in school so that he can stay focused on academics. That’s the level of commitment Thejas shows.
While Thejas is a role model to his other peers, he says his dad is his role model. He has sacrificed much to see that his son will not have to tread the path he has and be successful in life in every area and be of help in whatever way possible to his local community.