Don Rama, the author of Beneath The Straw Roof, is the grandson of Rama Appiah, an indentured labourer who left the shores of India in 1909 for the sugar cane fields of South Africa. Don Rama's father captured the facts of the story from Rama Appiah as he related it in Telegu. The emphasis on education in the Rama household was paramount. Don Rama traces the trajectory of the Rama household and demonstrates how poverty was overcome by adhering to fundamental human qualities of empathy, honesty and resilience. Don Rama has an academic background and has read for the BA, BEd and MBA degrees. Beneath the Straw Roof has been a personal and emotional journey in search of the roots of family values and he strength of human character.