Shankar, the budding doctor

Thirteen year old Shankar is studying in grade 7 at a mainstream school in Kanpur UP. He was initially enrolled at an Ana Skool centre and studied there till 4^th grade, but since his family showed that they were keen on ensuring he got a good education, Jagriti helped get him enrolled in a mainstream school. He has six siblings- three brothers (one elder and two younger) and three sisters. All the older children in his family assist their parents in their work, and Shankar and his younger siblings are studying. Shankar’s parents father, Rajendra, and mother, Lakhiya, migrated from Jharkhand, a state in central India to Kanpur in search of work and have been working in brick kilns ever since.

Shankar shows a keen interest in theatre and likes to participate in plays in his school. His brother was bitten by a snake recently and due to lack of proper medical access, his family had to wait many anxious hours (since the incident happened in the night) before they could get him admitted in a hospital and cured. This incident has made Shankar realize the need for basic health care which is denied to so many like his family. He wants to become a doctor when he grows up. Shankar also creates awareness among the brick kiln workers about the need to educate their children and convinces them to send their children to school!

Thank you, Stacy, David (x2), Tom, Sarah (x2), Ray and Lael, Dennis (x2), and Mahendra (x3), for coming together to ensure that Shankar’s tuition, transportation and uniform expenses are taken care of for an entire year.

Thank you, Ravi, for donation a year of study materials to Shankar.