Name: Kannan
Nickname:
Date of Birth: 9-11-99
Prior Educational Experience : Government Public School
Personal Description: Kannan is six years old and wears blue sandals, the
footgear he received when entering the orphanage. Previously he had lived
unshod with his family, who for lack funds could not buy him any shoes. He
still prefers to be barefooted on trips to the park. Kannan shows an interest in
academics, and wants to be a doctor when grows up. He joined the orphanage with
his sister Dhanalakshmi when their parents, subsistence farmers, met with
a string of poor harvests and financial reverses that forced them to give up
their eldest two children.
Name: Manikandan
Nickname: Mani
Date of Birth:2-19-1995
Prior Educational Experience : Government Public School
Personal Description: Mani Kandan is seldom seen without a smile. He is
tall and loose limbed with a love of cricket and swing
sets. Manikandan is also the
oldest of the orphans. Always ready to give up his sandals if another boy forgot
theirs or carry a younger child over a puddle when crossing the road, Manikandan embodies the Indian spirit of selfless generosity. He shows a passing interest
in scholarship and a lasting interest in altruism. His aim is to become a
policeman. Manikandan joined the orphanage after his mothers death. His father
works as a package carrier in the vegetable market, a job of so meager
a salary that it did not permit of supporting a child.
Name: Vinitha
Nickname:
Date of Birth:19-3-2001
Prior Educational Experience : None
Personal Description: Vinitha survives her father who recently expired. This misfortune has not dampened her spirit or adventurous nature. She
is the first to reach the swing set at the park and and her favorite sport is
"car race". Vinitha would like to become a police officer though her scholastic
aptitude is suggestive of a scientific or academic career. She joined the
orphanage after her mother separated from her father (a chronic alcoholic) and
was unable to support Vinitha on a maid's salary.
Name: Nithyasree
Nickname: Archana
Date of Birth:9-27-2001
Prior Educational Experience : None
Personal Description: Nithyasree is seven years old and exceptionally quiet. It is not known whether this is the result of early childhood
trauma or merely her retiring nature. Her favorite sport is "sliding" at the
playground. At school she prefers her English lessons and has designs to be a nurse
when she reaches adulthood. She joined the orphanage
after her mother remarried following her father's death, and the stepfather
refused to accept Nithyasree into his family.
Name: Tamil Selvan
Nickname: Selvan
Date of Birth: unknown
Prior Educational Experience : Lower Kindergarten Public
School
Personal Description: Tamil Selvan is the resident academic of the orphanage.
Crippled from birth, Selvan makes up for his physical infirmity with a sterling
scholastic record. When the other children are playing outdoors, Selvan prefers
to pour over a book. For recreation he plays Carem and other board games and
when he grows up he wants to earn his keep as a lawyer. Tamil Selvan joined the
orphanage after his mother separated from his father and failed to find a job
with remuneration enough to support a son.
Name: Dhanalakshmi
Nickname:
Date of Birth:3-25-1998
Prior Educational Experience : III Standard Government Public School
Personal Description: From her introduction at the orphanage, Dhanalakshmi has
played the part of an elder sister to the other girls. Though only nine, she
relishes being a leader among her peers and the overall sentiments of the group
often hinges upon her whim. Fortunately for all, she has a happy disposition and
is not afraid to assert herself. Dhanalakshmi would like to become an officer in the IAS, India's civil service
mechanism. She is one of five children and joined the orphanage when her parents
fell on hard times and found thier funds insufficient to feed her or her younger
brother, Kannan.
Name: Sabina 
Nickname:
Date of Birth: not known as yet (aproximatly 4 years old)
Prior Educational Experience : no prior education
Personal Description: Four year old Sabina, of Muslim extraction, was given over to the orphanage by her mother. She is the second child to her family. The father fled shortly after her birth, deeming the girl to be an unlucky omen. So far she has provided only luck, happiness, and smiles for us at the Arunai Childrens Home. Though she speaks solely in Urdu, Tamil and English are coming quickly to her.
Name: Viramani 
Nickname: Mani
Date of Birth:12-2-1995
Prior Educational Experience: 6th Standard Government Public School
Personal Description: Viramani was brought to the orphanage by his sister who is working in Bangalore as a maid. He was previously staying inside a restaurant and working there as a cleaner of dishes. His mother died of diabetes and he never met his father who suffered from alcoholism. Of the sports, he enjoys cricket the most. He would like to be a doctor when he gets older. In his family there are four sisters who are in a destitute way and unable to look after their youngest brother.