Meet the Children

Santosh | We met Santosh when a school teacher who knew about NYOF brought this tiny little boy and his uncle to the NYOF office one afternoon. She had asked someone in Santosh's village to send her a child from the village to work as a servant. When Santosh appeared with his uncle at her door, she burst out laughing at the tiny boy with the wide grin. “Why, she said, he is a baby – I would have to take care of HIM.”

Well as it turned out Santosh was not that young – about nine years old, but very small for his age. His parents had died and he lived with his uncle, who had a large family of his own and could hardly afford to feed another mouth. Santosh worked for his uncle as a cowherd in the village. They lived close to a primary school, and when the child was not herding cows, he would sneak into the back of the classroom to listen to the teacher instruct the students.

In this way, he learned to read and do some arithmetic. Our staff was astonished when they presented him at our office with a Nepali newspaper, and he rattled off the words with no trouble.

We brought him to J House, and he fit in immediately. He is not only very bright but adorable, funny, affectionate, helpful, and curious about everything. He loves to play “quiz” games to trip us up on geography or science. During holidays, he returns to his village and stays with his uncle, so that he keeps in touch with his culture and extended family. We predict that this little kid with the big grin will go places!

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