Thiyashini’s first day at Shanti Bhavan
What do you want to be when you grow up? It’s a question children hear all the time. When Thiyashini’s teacher asked her class that same question, she was the first child to raise her hand. Without hesitation, she said she wanted to be a doctor. Her teacher noticed how quickly and confidently she responded. It hadn’t always been that way. Two years earlier, Thiyashini rarely spoke in class. She was one of the quieter children in the room, watching everything closely as she slowly found her place at Shanti Bhavan.
Thiyashini with her grandparents
Thiyashini has been raised by her grandparents since she was very young. They run a small stall to support themselves and brought her to Shanti Bhavan when she was four years old. During her first year, Thiyashini needed extra time to settle in, grow stronger, and build the foundation she would need for the years ahead. We decided to give her another year in the same grade.
That extra year gave her the room to grow at her own pace. Today, she is a happier, healthier child with a bright smile and a long list of friends. She looks out for her classmates and is often the first to help the aunties who care for the children in the dormitories. The confidence behind her raised hand grew over time.
Recent Shanti Bhavan graduate, Franclina, encouraging Thiyashini
One school year doesn’t stand on its own at Shanti Bhavan. Each year builds on the one before it, and the moments in between are what make the difference. Organic, farm-grown meals and preventative healthcare ensure our children walk into class ready to learn. Teachers help them build their academic skills. Aunties care for them outside the classroom, from getting ready in the morning to settling into bed at night. Soccer games, creative arts camp, and friends that become family give them the space to discover what they enjoy and who they want to become.
You see what those years add up to in the lives they build after graduation.
Vel was four years old when he arrived at Shanti Bhavan, just like Thiyashini. His parents sold panipuri, and their work kept them moving. When he returned home during school breaks, he sometimes found his family had moved, which meant adjusting to another place and making new friends each time.
At Shanti Bhavan, he grew up beside the same classmates year after year. He maintained consistent routines ensuring he was fed, dressed, and in class on time. Vel had teachers, activities, and adults who paid attention to where he was and how he was doing. He shared that as a boy he didn’t always appreciate the structure, but as he got older, he started to realize how the stability and support Shanti Bhavan gave him were so different from the uncertainty and unpredictability back home.
After graduating from Shanti Bhavan, he spent his gap year teaching eighth-grade math on campus. The students he taught have since graduated from Shanti Bhavan themselves. Vel went on to Stanford, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and a master’s in earth systems, and has begun a career in solar energy.
Vel after graduating from Stanford University
None of that happened all at once. Long before Stanford, there were thousands of school days that helped make the rest possible. We’ve watched those days add up across generations of Shanti Bhavan children since 1997. Our graduating classes have maintained a 97% high school graduation rate, and today, 99% of our alumni give between 20 and 60% of their salaries to support their families and communities. The opportunity keeps moving forward, one child and one family at a time.
Our aunties, teachers, and onsite staff make these school days happen up close. Our sponsors help sustain them from wherever they are.
Thiyashini with her friends
Thiyashini is still early in her time at Shanti Bhavan. She may become a doctor or discover another dream along the way. Either way, the next time the class is asked what they want to be, her hand will be the first in the air.
