With over 31 million orphans in India, friends David Trotter and Shawn Scheinoha showed up in the country hoping to find Kids who would be willing to trust them enough to show them life through their own eyes.

They didn't expect that they would be welcomed open arms into the lives of a "family" of 25 children living the railway in the city of Tenala. While telling their story was their primary objective, Trotter and Scheinoha felt called into action when they met young siblings Polayya and Koteswari. Polayya and Koteswari were forced to beg on behalf of their alcoholic parents, eventually escaping by boarding a train and joining this makeshift family. By partnering with Harvest India, Trotter and Scheinoha are able to offer Polayya and Koteswari a second chance at life by arranging with Harvest India's director Suresh Kumar for these two small children to move into a local children's home.

Will the older kids in the family of 25 embrace this opportunity for two of their youngest members?

Casually yet compelling told with narration by Grammy Award winning Christian recording artist Rebecca St. James, Mother India: Life Through the Eyes of The Orphan is a breezy yet involving film that serves more as a primer into the issue of 31 million orphans living within one of the fastest growing countries in the world. At a mere 54 minutes including credits, Mother India doesn't give us nearly as much time as we'd like with these delightful children but it does give you just enough to end the film saying to yourself "What can I do?"

Of course, Mother India answers that very question through its support of Harvest India. While the film follows 25 children, Trotter and Scheinoha really focus their in-depth interviews and focus on seven of the children and all seven of the children have heartbreaking stories of what led them to redefine family in their own lives. While the film gives the statistics, and they are disturbing, it cares more about making this all incredibly personal by putting the kids front and center in the film. In fact, about the only time Mother India doesn't work as well is when the focus lingers a tad too long on Trotter and Scheinoha's explanation of the purpose behind the film.

Mother India is a film with a purpose and that purpose radiates throughout its entire running time. It's clear that everyone involved with this film wants you to get involved either by sponsoring a child or helping to promote this film that is both an introductory film into a vital social issue and a call to action. In both of these ways, Mother India succeeds. By the film's end, the issue of 31 million orphans in India will feel more deeply personal to you and you will feel that tug in your heart wanting to do what you can to help.

For more information, visit 31million.org and you can buy the film for yourself by clicking on the Amazon banner to the left of this review.

© Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic