The story of Santosh is exceptional in many ways. His development and graduation with a Bachelors in IT is a proud moment for Ama Ghar, and a testament to the value of our mission and the nurturing of the Ama Ghar children and staff.
When he was a very cute little boy of five, Santosh arrived at Ama Ghar with his seven year old sister, Laxmi. He was slightly shy at first, but we soon discovered that he was a bundle of energy. “A bundle of energy” is actually not an adequate description – he was a dynamo! From the beginning, we knew he was super, super smart, but he had specific character traits that were a challenge. He pestered staff and visitors alike with the constant request “Wanna play a game???” He could beat everyone, adults and children alike, at almost any mental game – he was incredible. Unfortunately, he didn’t like to share with others, he had meltdowns during their games, he had a meltdown if taken away from whatever he was focused on. He could laser focus on something and talk a mile a minute to explain it. As always, the caring, nurturing Ama Ghar children accepted his behavior and just learned to work around it. We learned from his sister Laxmi, a wise girl at seven, who said “If you tell him to do something, he won’t do it”. The staff encouraged him and helped him to monitor his outbursts with incredible patience – and in the process, we unearthed his wonderful sense of humor.
Eventually, Santosh received a diagnosis of ADHD, which helped us to work with the schools and help Santosh to manage his outbursts. He had incredible abilities, but he needed assistance to channel them properly. Bonnie Auntie read volumes of information about ADHD and suggested solutions, but mostly relied on the love and care he received at Ama Ghar from children and staff.
Santosh could answer any question verbally, but found it difficult to write answers, so of course school and exams were a challenge. The one benefit of the COVID era was that he was not required to take a written test to continue in school after class 10. School was very difficult for him, but he got through.
A Bachelors in IT was the perfect outlet for his intelligence, focus and abilities. He only occasionally needs to interact with people for long periods of time. He can stay focused on his computer and school tasks with ease. His socialization skills have improved immensely. He manages to slow down his speech when he talks to Bonnie Auntie – hopefully this is good training for conversations with future clients!
Santosh has a wonderful sense of humor, and we all laughed at memories of his childhood antics at his Graduation and at his recognition gathering at Ama Ghar. He reminded the younger ones to work hard and that anything is possible with support from your family. He received a Bachelors in IT at a school with a challenging UK curriculum. He has had interviews and is waiting for callbacks with the goal of a great job in IT. Thanks to the staff, his Ama Ghar brothers and sisters, and generous donors who supported us all, he is looking forward to a bright future.
