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		STC Trainee Stories
		Kamaraj, age 14
	CONTACT		"My older brother has a very bad temper. One day he killed my father when I was at school. He would drink a lot and beat my mother and me. He was arrested and went to jail for two years. So my mother and I moved to Bangalore in search of work. "Not long after, my mother got remarried and she kicked me out of the house. I don't know why because I think my stepfather liked me. So I became homeless. I slept on the roadsides and began picking up odd jobs for money. I didn't bathe or wash my clothes very often, and the other kids would tell me to stay away because I was a street boy who was dirty and hungry."
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			Kamaraj was found on the streets of Bangalore by the father of a Deepahalli STC trainee. He invited Kamaraj to visit the Center. He is now studying to become a tailor. He'd like to get a job in the garnment district and eventually set up his own tailoring shop with a few friends.
		Madhan, age 17
			"My father is a hit man. He kills or injures people for money. He used to beat and terrorize my mother. Then he would come after me and my younger brother and sister. It got so bad for my mother that she ran away. I haven't seen her in almost two years. "I stayed home from school to look after my siblings, but one day my father came home and gave me a severe beating. I don't know why. I couldn't take it anymore so I gathered my brother and sister and we ran away. We wandered around for three weeks. I remember one time getting on a city bus and riding around for three days. I didn't know where to go."
			Madhan and his siblings were found by the REDS staff on the streets of Bangalore and were placed in a youth hostel for three months. Today, Madhan and his younger brother, Ranjit, are students at Deepahalli. Madhan is learning welding; Ranjit is enrolled in tailoring. Their sister, Lakshmi is in a youth hostel for girls. Since coming to the STC, Madhan has learned to dance, something he loves to do.
		G. Antony, age 13
			"Both of my parents were alcoholics. They used to beat each other. They also beat me and my younger brothers and sister. Most of the time we wouldn't have anything to eat unless I went ragpicking. We ran away from home after my mother died. She tied a rope to a crossbeam and hung herself. We were all at home when it happened. "Because no one in my family was taking care of us, I saved enough money by ragpicking to run away to Bangalore with my brothers and sister. We lived in a cemetery."
			Antony was found by the STC staff through a cousin. His siblings are now in another youth hostel. His greatest wish is to get a job and save enough money so that he and his brothers and sister may one day be together, get married and have their own homes.
		V. Srinivasa, age 14
			"I was addicted to drugs and not interested in school. My mother began to beat ne. I stayed away from home and began sleeping on the roadsides. I sold popcorn to earn money. "I tried to quit drugs, but each time I failed. One day my mother died along the roadside after drinking too much. I never went back home after that. I met a friend named Akhbar. He didn't have any legs, so I would carry him on my back and we would go begging."
			Srinivasa was picked up by the police in Bangalore and taken to a REDS night shelter and later to the STC. He has been drug-free for 10 months and has quit smoking, both feats he is very proud of. His hope is to graduate in two years from Deepahalli, find his sister who is living in another youth hostel, and make a home where he can take care of her.
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