India 2015

My trip to India came about through my father-in-law's work with the development of a home for the elderly, named Edith Home of Hope after his deceased wife. In India there is no retirement scheme and, if you can't be productive and earn money, well, you are often considered no good to the family or others and are evicted from your home and abandoned. The Home was originally set up to be for older people but now supports children also whose families cannot or will not support them, offering them a place to live, with a school on-site where they and the local village children are taught english along with receiving a standard education. These images are of many of the people now living in the home's support system.  To coin the phrase "it takes a village to raise a child" sums up this situation well, with the interaction between the old and young keeping the old young at heart and providing the young with guidance to a better future. The aim of the Home is to be self-sufficient whilst maintaining traditional values, with residents helping out where they can, adding to their sense of self-worth. As yet, the Home relies on donations.