Seventy year old Lanka Paddamma is a widow who lives with her son in the village fo  Atchutapuram in coastal Andhra Pradesh. As she was blind in both the eyes due to cataracts she found it was difficult for her to manage her own needs.  Under such conditions she became a burden to her son’s family and very depressed. Her son is a carpenter who is the sole earning member in a family that includes his mother, wife, and four children. Under such conditions he couldn’t pay for his mother’s cataract surgery.

Your donation, Sarah, enabled Sankurathri Foundation to perform a cataract surgery on Paddamma. The donation also took case of her post operative medication and check-ups. Now she can see better, and is happy to be able to do her chores and help her son’s family at home. Thank you for restoring  Paddamma’s dignity and self confidence.

Sixty-five year old Prathi Apparao works as a farm laborer for a living. He lives with his wife in the village of Mamidada in coastal Andhra Pradesh. They have four children who are married and living with their families. Apparao is the sole earner for the family and he earns about $4 per day when he works. When he doesn’t work there is no income for him.

He was unable to see properly to continue his work because of failing eye sight. As he was unable to work he didn’t have any money to support his family for few months. Someone in his village suggested to him that he should get his eyes examined. He came to the eye hospital run by Sankurathri Foundation, where he was diagnosed as having cataract in both his eyes.

Your donation, James and Julie, enabled Sankurathri Foundation to perform the cataract operation free of cost to him with intraocular lens implant. Now he can see better and get back to his work and support his wife. Your donation also paid for the postoperative medications. Thank you for making a difference in Apparao’s life.

Seventy-six year old Donepuri Veerabhadram is a widower living with his son in the village of Peddada in coastal Andhra Pradesh. Being an old man Veerabhadram cannot help his son’s family much, and he is dependent on his son for his needs. Last year he got operated for cataracts in both eyes. However, after the surgery, he still needed glasses to see better.

Your donation, Elena and Shanen, enabled Sankurathri Foundation to provide a pair of glasses to Veerabhadram. Thank you for helping him see better.

Penke Geetanjali is the second child of a factory worker, Kondababu, who lives in the village of Penumarthi in coastal Andhra Pradesh. Her mother is a housewife, and Geetanjali’s grandmother also lives with the family. Kondababu is the sole earning member in the family, and his average monthly earning of $ 120 is barely enough to meet the needs of the family.

While Geetanjali gets food at home everyday, due to a combination of poverty and ignorance, the food is of poor nutritional value, and Geetanjali is undernourished. This in turn affects her ability to concentrate and makes her prone to illnesses.

Your donations, Pooja and Ketan (x11), will enable Sankurathri Foundation to provide an entire year of healthy lunches to Geetanjali. The lunch would comprise of lentils, green leafy vegetables, rice and clarified butter, all cooked using salt fortified with Iodine and Iron to improve their general health. The lunch would also be supplemented with a glass of milk in the afternoon.

Thank you Pooja and Ketan for ensuring that Geetanjali gets at least one healthy balanced meal in a day.

Ten year old Barre Subhash Chandra Bose is the eldest son of a village worker, Venkata Ramana, and resides in Penumarthi Village in Andhra Pradesh. The family consists of his parents, and two siblings. Subhash studies in Grade 4 in Sarada Vidyalayam, the free school run by Sankurathri Foundation. His father earns about $3 per day. He doesn’t have a steady work and struggles to support his wife and two other children with his earnings.

Under such circumstances education is never a priority for them and if they send the child to work he can make some money to supplement the family income. In this manner many boys and girls in the rural areas are becoming child laborers and supporting their families.

Your donation, Mathieu, enabled Sankurathri Foundation to provide two sets of school uniforms to Subhash Chandra Bose. He will wear these with pride, when he comes to school everyday.

Thank you, Mathieu, for contributing towards Subhash Chandra Bose’s well being.

Thirteen year old Saikumari is the oldest child of a village washerman in the village of Kothuru in coastal Andhra Pradesh. She is studying Grade 7  in Sarada Vidyalayam, the school run by Sankurathri Foundation. Her father earns about $5 per day. Since he doesn’t have a steady income, he struggles to support his wife and two other children with his earnings.

In such families, education is never a priority, because if they send the children to work, they can supplement the family income. Sarada Vidyalayam, by providing free education to the children is trying to ensure that the children do not end up as child laborers.

Thank you, Ganesh, Mario (x2), Kelly (x2), Uma, Elena and Shanen, Jeffrey, Anil (x2), Thomas and Rao, for coming together to provide one full year of tuition to Saikumari. She is an exceptionally gifted student, and has very high academic grades.

Thank you for helping her continue her education.

Twelve year old Chillapalli Subhadra Devi studies in the 6th grade in the school run by Sankurathri Foundation in coastal Andhra Pradesh. Her father, Linganna, works as a daily laborer in a local company and earns $ 120 per month. With that earnings he has to support his wife and 2 children. Subhadra Devi is elder of his two daughters.

Like most other children in from such circumstances, Subhadra Devi is undernourished. This makes her anemic and susceptible to frequent infections,  which results in absenteeism.

Your donations, George (x6), Susan and James, Wells (x 4), and Erin will ensure that Subhadra is provided with a nutritious lunch comprised of lentils, green leafy vegetables, rice and clarified butter for an entire year. The meals will be prepared using  salt fortified with Iodine and Iron to improve their general health, and will be supplemented by a glass of milk in the afternoon.

Thank you, George, Susan and James, Wells and Erin for helping keep Subhadra healthy and active.

Sixty eight year old Yadala Appayamma is a widow who lives with her son in the village of Vulapalli. Over the last few months, she has been losing vision in both eyes due to cataracts, and nearly became blind. She was very depressed because she became physically dependent on others. Her son wanted to get her eyes operated upon, but since he is a farm laborer, he was not able to afford it.

Your donation, Vibhor, enabled Sankurathri Foundation to perform a cataract surgery on Appayamma.  The donation covered the preoperative testing, food, accommodation, medicines during surgery, Intraocular lens, post operative medications and transportation back to their village. It will also pay for transportation to bring the patient to the base hospital for two postoperative visits. Now she can see better with your help and happy to be able to do her chores and also ready to help her son’s family at home.

Thank you for restoring her dignity and self confidence.

Sixty eight year old Challa Polamma is a resident of Vulapalli in coastal Andhra Pradesh. Ever since she was widowed, she has been living with her younger son who is a mason. She doesn’t have any income of her own, and her son supports his family of four, and Polamma on his income of  $ 4 per day. Polamma tries to make herself useful around the house, and helps her daughter-in-law in any way that she can.

For the last one year, however, her sight has been going down, and she hasn’t been able to help as much as she felt she should. Your donation, Stefan, enabled Sankurathri Foundation to provide a pair of glasses to Polamma.  She can now see much better, and no longer feels she is a burden on her son.

Thank you, Stefan for giving back her lost dignity to Polamma.

Nine year old, Bhavani, is the oldest daughter of a village farmer Jagannadham. He earns about $ 3 per day and with that he has to support his entire family of wife and two children. Bhavani is studying Grade 3 in Sarada Vidyalayam, the school run by Sankurathri Foundation. Her father doesn’t have a steady work and struggles to support his family with his earnings.

In a family such as her’s, education is never a priority, since the children can be put to work to supplement the family income. Bhavani has been lucky to escape that fate so far, and with your help, she will continue her education.

Thank you, Gail, for your gift of a set of two school uniforms to Bhavani.