‘Thayi Mane’, located at Nandini Layout in Shivamogga, has been a shelter for children with no proper care, for the last 16 years. The home, run by a group of friends has helped over 430 people all these years, and many of them have been doing well over the years.
At present 21 boys, from class 1 to 10, are in the home. A majority of them are children of single parents. “Every child has a story. We are making efforts to ensure their stories do not remain sad ones forever,” said Sudarshan H.P., who runs the home.
Germination of idea
A high school student, who sold newspapers, prompted Sudarshan and his friends to open ‘Thayi Mane’. “A boy named Prakash, was selling newspapers. Us friends saw him regularly near Nehru Stadium those days. During an interaction with him, we learnt he needed proper support for his studies,” said Mr. Sudarshan. Those days, Mr. Sudarshan, a postgraduate in social work, was working as a guest lecturer in a college in Shivamogga.
For a month, Prakash lived in his home. Through Prakash he learnt that many children in Shivamogga needed shelter and support like him. “Nine friends, joined hands and started this shelter with five children in 2009. As we did not want to treat these children as orphans, we named it ‘Thaayi Mane’. We don’t call it an orphanage,” he said.
