MEET the Kids
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From 3 to 25 years of age, each of the ‘kids’ has a unique story filled with abandonment, brokenness, and addiction. They all come from far-reaching villages and towns, but they’ve landed at the Tenali (Andhra Pradesh) train station to form a pseudo-family of those who are abandoned or orphaned.
While a number of these so-called ‘youngsters’ are in their early 20s (and doing their best to grow a mustache that any Indian man would be proud of), most of them have been living without parents for over a decade. Over 50% of the ‘family’ is HIV positive, and 100% of them are addicted to chewing tobacco, huffing ‘whitener’, or taking injections of a drug which none of them are able to identify.
Mark
Mark has the biggest smile among the family of kids living at the Tenali railway station.
P. Gopi
P. Gopi has an awkward playfulness that filled with smiles, energy, and life.
Hussen
Like many young men in India, Hussen is quite proud of his mustache.
Aadamma and Yesu
Aadamma is the mother of Yesu, 3 years old, and they survive by begging along the railway.
Abdullabi
Abdullabi is a Muslim living on the streets among his Hindu friends.
Narendra
Narendra survives by selling tobacco, stickers, and keychains to passengers along the railway.
Yesu
Yesu is fascinated by monkeys, including Agea, who is fiercely protective of him.
Nani
Nani lost his left arm in a train accident, but he continues to jump trains to sell tobacco to travellers.
Raja
Raja is the oldest member of the family, and he’s been living on the railway for well over a decade.
Nageswararao
Nageswararao is playful, yet awkward, among the group due to his mental disabilities.
Siva
Siva lives at the Tenali railway station with his brother, Yellapah.
Kiran
After losing his right leg, Kiran continues to jump trains in order to beg…now with his prosthetic leg.
Ramu
Ramu keeps in touch with friends via a cellphone that he pays for by begging.
Reddy
Reddy has been living on the streets for over a decade.
Sekar
Sekar lost the lower portion of his left leg in a train accident, and he walks with a prosthetic leg that is missing the foot.
Gopi
Gopi sustained an injury to the left side of his face which impacts his ability to speak clearly and smile.
Yellapah
Yellapah has a rock star personality and a smile to match.
Lakshmi
Lakshmi has experienced heart-breaking abuse at the hands of her ex-husband.
Polayya
Polayya and his 7 year old sister were forced to beg for money by their alcoholic parents.
Geetha
Geetha has been married multiple times at the young age of 20.
Koteswari
To escape abuse, she took her little brother and boarded a train.
Nagaraju
Nagaraju prefers to live on the railway than at home with his mother and father
Chillipadi
Chillipadi is a heavy drug user who both huffs “whitener” and uses injections.
Baachir
Baachir is the current husband of Lakshmi.