The facts about Rakesh’s life story are a bit blurry and his exact age is not really known, which is not an uncommon occurrence, happening for many reasons in different Indian communities. Rakesh’s history is vague because he was orphaned at the age of one. Shortly afterwards he was taken in and raised by friends. When Rakesh was about 15 years old, he decided to head out on his own to find a living. Since he never learned to read or write paying jobs were hard to find. At one point he worked in a nuts and bolts factory and another time in an iron rod factory. Sometime in his late teens he ended up doing drugs and other nonsense, while living on the streets. As Rakesh spent nights sleeping under a piece of plastic he thought about committing suicide. One day a local Christian brother found him and took him to the YWAM base for shelter. It was there that Rakesh saw how God’s people care for one another. Soon after that he accepted Jesus into his life. Slowly he learned to read and write and even attended YWAM’s 6-month Discipleship Training Course (DTS). During his 3-month outreach, he met Suman and volunteered at Sahayak Hath. After completing the DTS course, his staff encouraged him to work long term with Sahayak Hath. Rakesh travelled to Pune to work fulltime with Sahayak Hath in June 2013, where he currently serves.