India, 2008

The Colored Pencil Project headed to various schools, orphanages and rural villages in India. Unicef has defined the following as issues facing children in India:

1. Approximately 26% of the Indian population lives below the poverty line and 72% of that number live in rural areas.
2. It is estimated that India has the largest number of AIDS orphans of any country and this number is expected to double in the next five years.
3. Census data suggests that there are 11.28 million working children in India.
4. Conservative estimates state that around 300,000 children in India are engaged in commercial sex.

The Colored Pencil Project traveled to rural villages in the northeast region of India, Arunachal Pradesh. With the help of Jhamtse International, the project reached 1,000 children in three weeks during the fall of 2008.

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