Friends of Operation Shanti,

Greetings! We’d like to provide you, our friends and supporters, with an update on what we’ve been doing for the past few months. And, we are most grateful for your continued support of our work.

In May, we started our Street People Program, an on-the-spot assistance program for the kids and their moms who make the streets of Mysore, India their home. Our program provides much needed:

• daily vitamins and a morning snack; formula for two street babies
• medical care, including treating cuts and bruises, doctor visits, hospital admissions for serious problems, and medicines
• weekly hot, nutritious lunches
• clothing, bedding items (old yoga mats are great for sleeping on the street), slippers, school supplies, arts and crafts supplies

In June, we saved a street baby’s life, rushing him to the hospital as he suffered from serious dehydration.

We helped a street mom find a home for her two children – she asked us to help her get them off the streets and into a home that could provide them with education, housing, and the chance for a better life.

In November, we’ll take the kids on a field trip to the famous Brindavan Gardens, and host a weekend soccer camp with our UK-based volunteers.

We’re excited about the success of the program to date, and we continue to attract new street kids. We’ve gained the trust of both the kids and their moms. And with your support, we’ll be able to do much more for these kids who have nothing, and simply want a better life.

To further our efforts in this community, we are working on ways to open a city-based support center, for the destitute on the street. For more information on our plans, see our website at www.operation-shanti.org.

Working with our street kids has reinforced the immediate need for our Children’s Home. The need - quantified as over 5,000 street kids in Mysore city, and tens of thousands of other destitute children in rural and tribal areas - far outweighs the existing support and services in the area.

We also appreciate your non-monetary contributions – art supplies, clothing, used yoga mats, shoes, slippers…

We are grateful to our friends in Mysore who have hosted musical events to raise funds for our efforts, and who have graciously volunteered their time to our activities.

And, thank you for your continued support!