Srirampura is a slum area in the heart of Bangalore City near the main railway station. The living conditions in these slums are immensely challenging as the houses are right next to one another, making the space crowded and tight. It is common for large families to live in a small room, no larger than the size of a bedroom. These tight living quarters greatly impact the quality of life for people in Srirampura. Many people suffer from poor hygiene and chronic illnesses as a result of contamination from where they call home.
Kevin is a young student in sixth grade at a government school. He lives in this slum area with his sister, Deepika. Their father, Krishnamurthy, earns a small daily wage doing construction work. His quality of life led him to deep despair and he turned to drinking alcohol to make himself forget his problems. He would get sick from drinking so much, he wasn’t himself, and it led to many heated arguments with his wife, Kavitha.
One day, Kavitha was so distraught from her husband’s addiction and was consumed by deep depression, that she took her own life. All the responsibility fell on Krishnamurthy to earn the income for the family and provide, leading to immense financial scarcity. Consumed by his grief, Kevin and Deepika’s father was barely able to put food on the table, turning to alcohol as an even greater source of comfort. As a result, Krishnamurthy’s parents stepped in to help take care of the children and took on responsibility for raising them.
During this difficult time for the family, Mr. Jonathan, a partner with The Hope Venture, became aware of the children’s story. He took personal interest in the well-being of Kevin and Deepika, and began to frequently check in with their grandparents to learn how they were doing. He was able to give Kevin and Deepika backpacks, lifting even the small burden in their life of not having the right supplies they needed for school. He knew that backpacks would not magically solve their problems. They still will have to cope with the pain of their mom commiting suicide, and their dad’s alcohol addiction. But even in this pain, having Mr. Jonathan care about them brought some relief, and gave them a sense of hope during their circumstances.