Mother India: Life Through the Eyes of the Orphan

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Can you imagine your child…

• Digging through the trash to find food?
• Begging for change just to survive?
• Bathing in water where animals are washed?
• Sleeping by themselves?
• Sold into slavery?

    Mother India, a new documentary narrated by Rebecca St. James, captures the lives of 25 abandoned and orphaned children living on the streets in India.

    Did you know that there are over 31 million orphans in India? 

    I had no idea there were that many.  Many of them became orphans after their parents died of AIDS, or the children ran away from home because they were beaten and abused unmercifully by parents or stepparents.

    I wasn't sure what I would be viewing when I agreed to watch and review this film for you.  I knew it was a documentary, but I didn't know how graphic it would be, or how interesting I'd find it.

    I didn't need to wonder.

    Immediately, I was submerged into the daily struggle for life that a group of orphans endures.  25 courageous orphans living together as a family along the railway in Tenali, India.  No one caring about them.  No one guiding them or helping them.

    Two American men wanted to journal the life of a group of orphans, so they become a part of this group for several weeks.  They slept on dirt or concrete floors, covering themselves with filthy rags used as blankets.  They ate with this group, interviewed them and those around them.  It was actually quite fascinating.

    The horrors of what these children face every day just made me so sad.

    I'm thankful that these two gentlemen took it upon themselves to let us know what orphans' needs are in India.  It is such a challenge to rescue the orphans from a lifestyle of begging, addiction, and sexual abuse.

    Is this film appropriate for children?  Yes - older children, that is.  Parents should be aware that the film shows the raw reality of living as an abandoned and orphaned child on the streets of India. Interviews include topics of drug abuse, sexuality, violence, and HIV/AIDS.  Drug use is explicitly shown.

    Mother India is the work of first-time filmmakers David Trotter and Shawn Scheinoha.  “India is growing in both population and industry, but few people know that there are over 31 million orphans in this nation,” commented Trotter (Executive Producer, Director). “Each of these young lives is much more than a statistic. Every one of them has a name, a face and a story.” Scheinoha (Executive Producer) added, “We’re not out to just tell a tragic story. We’re focused on raising awareness and changing lives.”

    Learn more about Mother India at www.motherindiafilm.com!

Let's give away a new copy of the Mother India DVD!

Please, only U.S. residents are eligible to enter this giveaway.  Thank you.

    Entrants must be 18 years or older; only U.S. residents are eligible to enter this giveaway.  I will select the winner of this prize using Random.org (via this Rafflecopter entry form, below).

    I will be verifying the winning entrant's giveaway entry options to make sure they are valid.  In the past several months, multiple potential winners were excluded from winning even though their names had been selected randomly as winners, because they said that they had signed up for email subscriptions but had not completed the process, which includes clicking on an email you will receive to confirm your subscription.  An email subscription to Joy In Our Journey.com is not a requirement to enter our giveaways, but if you do use an email subscription option to enter to win, please make sure that you click on the confirmation email that you will receive.  That will validate your entry.  Thank you!   :)

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I received one copy of Mother India from Blogger Gateway in exchange for my honest review of this DVD.  No other compensation was provided.

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