Nayanakumari lost her father when she was just 14 years old. Due to extreme poverty, she and her sister had to discontinue their studies, and started working in a garment factory to support their family. After 4 years, coming to know of their sad plight one of the staff of Don Bosco Mysore guided them to the Direct SSLC programme for school dropouts at Don Bosco under the Karnataka State Open School. Nayanakumari enrolled herself as a student under open school scheme. She completed her SSLC and PUC in flying colours after which she joined for the 3 months skill training program at the Don Bosco Tech Mysore. Now she is a staff of Don Bosco. Nayanakumari says, “My life has totally changed after joining Don Bosco. My younger sister also completed her SSLC at Don Bosco and is presently doing PUC. Both of us are very happy. Don Bosco taught us the meaning of livelihood and personal management. We are proud to say that we are part of that great family – Don Bosco”.