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Student Stories
Lives changed, one family at a time
These are real families from Dantherapalli and the villages around it. Their stories are why The Joshua Foundation and St. John’s School exist.
Real Families, Real Change
Five Stories. One Mission.
Behind every statistic on this site is a family who took a chance on St. John’s. Here are five of their stories, in the order they happened.
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From the same village, in the very next school year
2014 · Changing a village's mindset
P. Umamaheswari & Prasanna — sisters who changed a village
From a Gypsy-tribe family living hand-to-mouth on farm labour, Umamaheswari and her sister Prasanna were enrolled after a door-to-door visit in June 2014. Their father Munaiah, who was denied schooling himself, was determined his daughters would have a different life.
Neighbors mocked the decision — English-medium school, for girls, in a family that could barely afford food? But as the sisters' speech, hygiene and confidence transformed, the same neighbors began asking Munaiah for help enrolling their own children.
Five new applications came from that one village the following year. Munaiah became the first person in Parameswar Nagar to send his children to English-medium school — and opened the door for the rest of the village to follow.
2015 · First-year enrollment
Ramija — the only girl from her village
In St. John's very first year, Ramija's father saw no reason to spend on a 'girl child's' education while the family struggled financially. Her mother disagreed, and repeated visits from the school's founder slowly changed his mind.
Ramija was the only student from her village that first year — and neighbors called her parents foolish for it. But as her English, behaviour and confidence visibly grew, minds changed.
By 2015–16, nine more children from her village enrolled. By 2016–17, another eleven followed, plus eighteen from nearby villages. One family's decision became a community's transformation.
Children enrolled from her village and nearby, in the years that followed
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2015 · Family livelihood
Ch. Premchandu — "Forever indebted to God and to TJF"
Premchandu, an LKG student from a Dalit Christian family, was often absent from school. When staff visited his home, his father Prabhakar explained: no permanent job, no land, unreliable daily wages of ₹200 — barely enough to survive, let alone pay for schooling.
The very next day, TJF's board met and decided to help Prabhakar become self-employed. They gifted him an ice-cream storage freezer worth ₹2,000 — no repayment required — so he could sell ice cream door-to-door by bicycle.
Within a week, Prabhakar was earning ₹400–500 profit a day, cleared his son's school dues, and began encouraging other parents on his rounds to enroll their children at St. John's for the following year.
Feb–May 2016 · A life saved
Amaranad — a second chance at life
In February and March 2016, a visiting partner team met baby Amaranad for the first time — the baby brother of a St. John's student, born with a severe cleft lip and palate. At just four months old he weighed only 9 pounds, and his parents, despite their best efforts, had little hope he would survive. When the team visited his village, his mother carried him straight over to one of the visitors, as if she somehow knew help had arrived.
Back at their hotel that night, moved by what she'd seen, one of the visitors and her husband began searching for a way to help. They found a local Smile Train treatment center, downloaded an educational video on feeding an infant with a cleft lip and palate, and identified — and emailed — a doctor several hours away who could perform the surgery.
A few days later, Karna brought Amaranad's family to the school, where Sandhya translated the video and shared everything the team had found. The family left encouraged and in tears of gratitude. After the visiting team returned home, Karna and Sandhya followed up with the Smile Train doctor and, with funds raised through The Joshua Foundation, accompanied the family to their first check-up — where TJF also purchased specialised feeding equipment and high-calorie infant formula to help Amaranad gain the weight he needed.
The Journey of Amaranad
1. Meeting Amaranad
2. Visiting the village
3. The first check-up
4. After surgery
5. With his big sister
6. Into all kinds of mischief
Over the following months, Amaranad gained weight and took medicine to boost his blood count. In May 2016, the corrective surgery on his cleft lip was a complete success. When the family returned to their village, neighbors gathered to celebrate with them.
Amaranad is healthy today — happy, mischievous, and full of life. He is the baby brother of a St. John's student, and everyone who was part of his story hopes that one day soon, he'll walk through the school's gates as a student himself.
Class of 2024–25
Mani Kumari — An Icon of St. John's
Background
Mani Kumari joined St. John's at the age of four, coming from a Christian family background. She has two brothers and one sister, and is the youngest in her family. Her mother is a homemaker and her father a farmer.
Academic Performance & Personality
She was a wonderful student with a keen interest in learning, and we still remember her first day at St. John's. As the years passed, she became an excellent student — very attentive and eager to learn, kind and helpful to her classmates. Mani loved St. John's and thrived in the learning environment, actively involving herself in games, competitive exams and every activity on offer. Gentle and easy-going, her projects were selected as the best every time she competed with other students.
Challenges & Support
In 9th grade, she faced numerous challenges and struggled to balance herself, feeling overwhelmed and disappointed. Her parents considered transferring her to another school, but the management intervened and counselled her. Karna and Sandhya took a keen personal interest in her case and spoke with her parents, asking them to give her one more chance — and they agreed, trusting St. John's and its management. The school promised to provide the support and comfort she needed, and made sure no harm would come to her.
Achievements
St. John's monitored her progress closely, and she excelled — scoring 535 out of 600 in her 10th-grade state board exams. She then received a prestigious scholarship of ₹35,00,000 for six years of study at IIIT, courtesy of the Government's talent program.
Outcome & Recognition
She became an outstanding student and an icon of St. John's. Her parents returned to express their gratitude for the school keeping its promise and nurturing Mani's talent. St. John's is always proud to be called a place of love, care, value and excellence — thanks to one and all for their generosity. God is at work.
Five stories told • 225+ more like them
Every story here started with one decision
These five are just a glimpse — 225+ children at St. John’s carry stories like theirs. A family chose to enroll, a sponsor chose to make it possible, and the next story is already being written.
Be Part of the Next Story