By Lata Setty

While reflecting on initial impressions serving on my first Rotaplast surgical mission in Bengaluru, South India, starting with SEVEN things I did not know, I witnessed that:

#2 Heroic bravery doesn’t have an AGE LIMIT!

Manjunath was a mere toddler in Southern India when his tiny torso and arms were burned in an accident, webbing most of his arms, neck, and chin, damaging multiple nerves and destroying any remnants of normal movement. Inadequate burn treatment at a local hospital led to severe scarring, disabling contractures, and the loss of chin, neck, and arm mobility. Manjunath spent his subsequent childhood years in the slums as an outcast, injured and disfigured, and to add insult to injury in his already challenging life, his parents died in a car accident shortly thereafter, tragically leaving him and his five elder siblings orphaned and alone.

When Manjunath first attended the local public school, he was teased mercilessly by his classmates who didn’t understand his misfortune and were scared by his physical appearance, so he stopped going. Now on the verge of his teen years, he has strengthened his resolve to go to school but also anxious he will be judged harshly by a new set of peers, as he is entering a stage where his self-esteem is closely tied to his body image and the pressure to look like other teens will become enormous. In a world where wearing the wrong kind of clothes can make one a social outcast, where corrective surgery has become fashionable, and teens endure clinical malnutrition out of fear of becoming overweight, teens look to the opinion of their peers to gauge their self-worth. “Belonging” is the most important thing on their mind, and having a strong circle of friends means that they have been accepted. The consequences of failing this test can be devastating, so Manjunath had given up the idea of attending school again.

Until one day his eldest brother, just 19 years old himself and head of the household taking care of himself and his 5 younger siblings, heard about the Family Welfare Office (“FWO”) mobilizing burn patients to be examined by the Rotaplast U.S. Surgical Mission Team visiting Bengaluru to treat children with burns surgically. After being healthy enough to garner approval for surgical treatment on Rotaplast’s 1st Clinic Day, Manjunath underwent a brutally intense day of surgical procedures involving several burn reconstruction surgeons operating on him simultaneously, led by the incomparable Dr. Debra Reilly, MD FACS, with Dr. Mark Singleton, MD, being the vigilant pediatric anesthesiologist, incorporating tissue expansion, flap advancement and scar contracture releases, including painful skin grafts from his legs and abdomen. Manjunath shared that, post-surgery, the surgeons said the areas they had worked on looked “phenomenal”, though humbly, he didn’t think they did at that time.

Dr.Debra Riley, Manjunath with Sharron Newton, RN, in Recovery

During post-surgery recovery time, what stood out most about young Manjunath was not his scars, but his bright, shining eyes and irrepressible smile. Although the heat and humidity in the wards were unbearable for our first-world comfort level, Manjunath stayed upbeat and positive, entertained by the effervescent and efficient Terri Chapman, who kept him company with tiny finger puppets donated by the Rotaplast Team.

In the light of all the trials and tribulations Manjunath has already faced, and will continue to face, his bravery, resilience and resolve isextraordinary and his continued faith that the world is good and that people are good, is exemplary – this little boy’s courage at such a tender age will forever be tattooed on my brain, and my heart!

About the Author: Lata Setty is a former scientist turned serial entrepreneur, now a venture capitalist on a mission to fuel female founders. After exiting multiple startups backed by firms like Sequoia and Goldman Sachs, she now invests in high-potential women-led companies, especially those bridging science, tech, and law. As GP of The East West Nanocorn Fund and Inaugural Investor at How Women Invest, Lata is committed to closing the gender gap in venture capital—mobilizing 10,000 women to invest by 2025. Her motto: invest in women for people, planet, and profit. Learn more about Lata by visiting https://www.linkedin.com/in/latasetty/.