Meet Krishna. When he and his father, Bobby, first came to JOYN almost two years ago, Krishna was a shy seven year old, who constantly hid behind his father never wanting to make eye contact with anyone.
Today, Krishna keeps us laughing with jokes, his constant smile, and big hugs.
Here is their incredible story and how their lives were changed forever.
Before coming to JOYN, Bobby and Krishna were homeless, spending their nights in an evening shelter. Krishna was born deaf. This, along with Bobby’s drinking, resulted in complete rejection by Krishna’s mother. She left, leaving Bobby to raise Krishna on his own.
During the day, the shelter they slept in is used by Street Smart, an organization that JoyCorps works with in several ways. One of our JOYN team members, Rakesh, was visiting Street Smart when he met Bobby and Krishna.
Not long after, members from the 99 Balloons team traveled to India and visited the shelter with Rakesh, who told them about Bobby and Krishna. 99 Balloons team members met with JOYN founder Melody Murray and shared the story of this father and son. Melody invited Bobby to the offices to meet him and hear his story. She decided to offer Bobby a full-time position training to be a block printer and gave them both a place to stay at the JOYN offices.
Today, Bobby is an incredibly responsible and talented artisan, always performing with excellence. He attended the English classes taught through JOYN and now not only speaks speaks english with confidence, but is responsible for writing thank you notes with each JOYN order - in english. He is currently learning computer basics, and is known and loved by the entire JOYN family.
Krishna had been attending a local school in India that works with disabled children. However, it was difficult for Bobby to keep him in school when they were homeless.
After starting with JOYN, Bobby wanted Krishna to have the opportunity to learn again. The school visited the JOYN offices to see Bobby’s new housing, work ethic and commitment to raising Krishna.
Krishna is once again in this uniquely special school which has helped both Bobby and Krishna communicate with each through learning sign language.
Bobby and Krishna are just two examples of the hundreds of lives being changed through JOYN. Stories like this are why we exist -- it's what keeps us going day after day.
