OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Krrish Sanjanwala and Pranith Surapaneni became best friends in sixth grade. Now as seniors at Blue Valley Northwest High School, they are co-authors of two books together.
The pair drew from their own experiences to write two children's books about two auto-immune diseases — alopecia and vitiligo.
Alopecia causes hair loss and vitiligo causes discoloration in patches of skin.
When they were younger, Surapaneni had vitiligo, as did Sanjanwala, in addition to alopecia.
“At such a young age, obviously, it’s like super hard," Sanjanwala said. "Kids are not as generous with their words when they’re younger.”
"Hidden Beauty: An Alopecia Story" follows the story of Ellie, a girl who loses her hair because of alopecia.
“She ends up going to school. Kids are making fun of her, but eventually, she realizes that everybody’s unique in their own way and beautiful in their own way," Sanjanwala said.
"Starry Skin" tells the story of a young baseball player who has vitiligo.
"He just shows everybody that no matter how you look, you can still belong," Surapaneni said.
The moral of these two stories is to let kids with alopecia and vitiligo know they fit in and help other kids understand what their peers may be going through.
Plus, the books benefit worldwide efforts.
"Our book profits are now going to Ukraine to help with war refugees getting medical aid," Surapaneni said.
The best friends are working with KC-area nonprofit Global Care Force Inc. to send medical aid to Ukraine.
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KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.