Barath excels with help from his friends

Dear Krish, Pranav, Brian, Linda, Chandru, Sripriya, Shweta, Sandya, Dhandapani, Yasuhiro, Suresh, Kemparaju, V, Surendra, Gowtham, Ramesh, Anandram, Ashwini, Ajay, Jeeva, Mala, Arvind, Kumaraswamy, Priya, Chandra, Phillip D., Mamtha, Usha, Anu, and Sarah,

Barath is a disciplined boy in the seventh grade at an English-medium school run by Isha Vidhya in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He is an only child. His father, Mr. Srinivasan, runs a catering business. His mother also helps. They receive 5,000 to 6,000 Rupees (~$90-$110 US Dollars) per order but typically get work only once a month.

When Barath first started going to the Isha Vidhya school, he performed poorly in classes. With the help of his best friends, Arun and Rajarajeswaran, Barath has greatly improved and now excels at school. This 12 year old is even a district chess player!

Barath’s ambition is to join the army one day. He is loved by all his teachers. An active child in the classroom, he is even more active in the playground. He is also a cricket champ. Barath says: “I love Diwali [India's most important holiday]. I burst crackers and I wear new dress; I also exchange sweets and invite my friends!”

His mother is grateful for all of your generosity. Through your contributions, Barath can attend the Isha school free of charge for one year. “If we had not received the scholarship,” she exclaims, “I would have sent my son to a government school. We cannot afford to send him to a matriculation school [like Isha's].”

Thank you all for supporting Barath and Isha Vidhya!