In many cases, the storybook is a child’s first resource that inspires, gives hope, and teaches the hero’s journey. Stories like Cinderella, Winnie the Pooh, Beauty and the Beast are sources of knowledge, happiness, and imagination. However, in many parts of the world storybooks are not available or easily accessible. This issue becomes detrimental particularly for orphans and children who have experienced early childhood trauma such as abuse, abandonment, violence, extreme poverty, or loss of one or both parents.
Without a doubt, children in orphanages are one of the world’s most vulnerable groups. The loss of a parent, either through death or abandonment, brings serious risks for the child’s development and well-being. Modern research demonstrates that the stress of abandonment or bereavement can even impact brain development. Recent studies have shown that the brains of young children who experience extreme stress or neglect have abnormalities in the area of the brain that helps regulate emotions. Therefore, these children are more likely to feel threatened or lash out than children who have not suffered trauma. Outcomes of trauma, such as depression, anxiety or substance abuse, and learning impairment can last a lifetime and dictate whether or not the child can function in society as an adult. What makes this all the more difficult is that these symptoms appear differently in children than they do in adults, making it less obvious that a child might be suffering after a traumatic incident.
How can storybooks help traumatized children? Storybooks provide contexts to help the child clarify problems, thoughts, and emotions. Meaning, children with problems regulating emotions can compare challenges within the character’s journey to their own issues and recognize solutions to their own predicaments. Further storybooks help to develop moral values and endow more positive meaning in life, develop intellect through literacy to recreate, create, and innovate, and help with communication and relationship skills. Many programs exist to provide job training or basic shelter, food, clothing to orphaned, abandoned or street children. Without “fixing the spirit” of these children, we cannot be sure how well these children can function outside of their program, and whether or not they can overcome temptations to return to their old ways of life.
Our organization, Bookwallah, brings about a change in consciousness among orphans, refugees, and children of trauma through the healing power of storybooks so they can learn better, integrate better, and create new lives for themselves. Bookwallah gives these children hope and empowers them to reach their full potential by showing them that they too can be the heroes in their lives. Founded in 2010, Bookwallah is already transforming the lives of more than 1,000 children in India, with goals to expand globally through its innovative library programming. Bookwallah is a non-profit organization that brings the magic of storybooks and safe inspiring havens to orphans and children of trauma where their sense of possibility, hope and imagination can come to life. The organization was founded by Seena Jacob based on her own life and how books helped her get through hardship.
A Bookwallah volunteer in Mumbai, India, recently shared a story that truly demonstrates the power of Bookwallah’s work. One of our little girls who resides in an orphanage with a Bookwallah library was sexually abused by her own biological father. She was brave enough to speak up and save herself and her sister from further harm. As a result she was shifted to an orphanage where she initially was angry, disruptive, and unhappy. More recently, the same project volunteer leader received a beautiful drawing of ducks in water, with one duck flying in the sky above the others. The little girl explained her drawing as, “Before I was in the river...and now sometimes I can FLY.” Now, we know –her consciousness has changed and anything can be possible moving forward.
We plan to continue to evaluate our efforts through collaboration with child psychologists in the United States and a program evaluation pilot study of our programs in India and other countries. Our hope is to expand our efforts and bring the gift of storybooks to millions of orphans, disabled, refugees, and children of trauma around the world. Visit www.bookwallah.org to see which country our story is taking us to next.
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