Hanumantha - A Case Study

• Hanumantha, a boy from Mumbai, was a student at Colaba Municipal School. A hard working boy, but who in all probability would fail the 10th Standard Board Examination due to his English Language deficiency.
• He was directed to us and we gave him private tuitions in addition to the Sujaya Classes
• He passed the English exam with 35% (minimum required)
• He joined Elphinstone College for his SSC (Std. 11), but now discovered that he was not really cut out for academic work.
• We then asked him to observe himself from the outside. What would he like to do? What did he do when he was not in college? In which activity did he lose track of time?
• He said he liked to cook; use his hands creatively
• We examined the Dadar Catering College Prospectus. The Patisserie course which cost Rs.22,000/- required a minimum qualification of SSC.
• We consulted Indus Cruising, who told us that hands on training, at this stage, would be better than a diploma.
• In the meantime, Hanumanta continued going to Std. 11 at Elphnistone College & coming to Sujaya Foundation for help in English.
• We then met Hanumantha's mother in the Colaba slum. We wanted to know if she was agreeable for him to leave college & join the catering college. She was.
• We then drew up a list of places where Hanumanta could get some hands on experience before June, when he would join the Dadar Catering College.
• Rahul Akerkar of Indigo, a well known restaurant in Mumbai, agreed to take him.
• He asked us for a guarantee that Hanumantha would be well behaved and observe social norms, abstain from dugs, drink, join unions etc. We were able to do this because we were meeting him daily for a period of one year. We had also visited him in his house and knew his family.
• Hanumantha was a big hit at Indigo.
• For his interview he was trained at Sujaya Foundation
• Speech acts: how does one introduce oneself; ask questions; put forward a point of view; negotiate; close a conversation; thank
• Mock interviews were conducted. We asked people from the industry to conduct some mock interviews.
• Hanumantha succeeded very well at the Catering College. During his six month training he won two medals
• He then did his internship at the Hilton Towers. He acquired sufficient fluency to interact with foreign clients (his fluency is limited to the catering jargon).
• After his internship he got a job at Marine Plaza, a well known hotel in Mumbai.
• He then tried out for a job with an international cruise line and was selected.
• Our volunteers continue to give him time to improve his english skills.