BHAKTIVEDANTA CHILDREN’S HOME Bhaktivedanta Children’s home is located in GOKULAM (Wattala, Sri Lanka). This is an orphanage outside of Colombo that has been around for 10 years and is very well run. The Principal is a woman named Srimathi Nandarani Devi. There are 150 orphans at this facility and there is a need for books both in local language and English to supplement their existing library. 
St. John’s Home for Women & Children St. John’s Home for Women & Children is a home for children and elderly women in Pune, India. The home is managed by Ms. Philomena for the past 35 years and houses 20 children up to the age of 16. They have a playroom in the upper level and empty shelves where a library could be housed. We noticed the younger children spoke very little English, but were extremely captivated by the colorful illustrations in the few books that were provided to them.
Handmaids of the Blessed Trinity Convent Handmaids of Blessed Trinity Convent has three orphanages located Mumbai, India. The orphanages are run by Sr. Eliza who has provided a loving home to many of the children. The orphanages have approximately 100 children and also provide schooling for 500 local children in the area. This orphanage is a perfect story of how a simple gift such as a book can bring about so much happiness and pleasure and is the first orphanage Bookwallah visited.
Trafalgar Children’s Home Trafalgar Children’s Home is a boy’s orphanage located in Kingston, Jamaica. There are about 30 boys from ages 7-17 who currently reside in the home. The home has been around for 50 years and is run by Sr. Knight. Their current library consists mostly of textbooks. There were no storybooks for children.
Forum for Street Boys and Children Forum for Street Boys and Children in Hyderabad, India is an orphanage that houses an estimated 50 street children in Hyderabad. The orphanage was started by a retired police officer who discovered that many of the boys he encountered in the streets did not have a home. The “library” currently houses a few desktop computers and a very small number of books. The home is currently managed by Mrs. Ewari who has expressed a need for a library and an open reading rug area for her children. 
SOS Children’s Village SOS Children’s Village located in Pune, India has an interesting model. Every ten children have a mother and live in a stone house. The village is managed by a former teacher, Mr. Sharma, for the past 13 years. There are approximately 180 orphans who live in the village. We discovered during our visit that although SOS has a library, many of their shelves were stocked with textbooks and older encyclopedias. There were no storybooks for children.There are 143 Million orphans in the world according to UNICEF. An estimated 15 Million are without either parent. These children are faced with having lost their parents for a multitude of reasons. Although education is offered to children who have found a home in an orphanage, many of orphanages in the poorer, developing nations do not have the resources, expertise, or access to books of interest to children. As a result, the children’s continued interest in learning, desire to grow and succeed, and ability to move upwards is only as large as their immediate experiences.
Through the Bookwallah Book Program, Bookwallah seeks to make a difference by delivering storybooks and chapter books to children who have found a home within an orphanage. We believe children’s lives can change through the power and magic of books by helping them to develop strong values and personal skills to deal with their immediate world and giving them the inspiration and hope through imagination to eventually shape the world around them. Higher literacy, education, and upward mobility are natural outcomes of this program regardless of class, sex, caste, religion, or country of origin.
We select orphanages based on specific criteria and recommendations. Our goal is to ensure the books get into the hands of the children and remain at the orphanage. For that reason, we will not provide services in any country where we do not have a trusted individual or team that can oversee the process, delivery, and follow-up. A member of the Board of Directors will personally visit locations as part of the screening process. Our success will also be based on ongoing relationships and shared investment within the respective communities.
We want to:
