I spent two months working in one of India’s most basic orphanage in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. There was no running water and at least 14 hours without power everyday, millions of flies that came during the day and when you slept buzzed though your ears, nose and mouth.

The images in this portfolio are of Indian children; most are of the orphans we lived with, showing the undiminished lives of youth, with nothing, yet a clear degree of contentment. This comes from an important lesson, life’s vital needs of friendships, food, sleep and faith in God. For them, its life without the material clutter of the Western world, basic but happy. They are the life-blood for the next vibrant generation and India’s pioneers striving to grow out of poverty.

Photography by Sam Burton