They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and this one speaks volumes… Captured on a recent trip by Pure Kerala Tours, it shows the tender moment when three kindergarten children were presented with a small gift from a guest on our Kerala and Southern India small group trip.

This touching photo shows Suzanne, from Melbourne, Australia, presenting three little girls with a koala teddy each during a visit to a tribal village kindergarten in the hills of Palakkad, Kerala.

 The children were told our group was coming to visit their school, so they arrived in their very best clothes and surprised us with an enthusiastic rendition of the National Anthem.

The teacher apologised for the poor turnout of only five children that day.

“We have to urge them to come to school,” she said, explaining that the children hail from poor, illiterate families who live in the hills and beyond.

Outside, two boys played with a rusted bicycle wheel, chasing it along the stony, dusty ground with a stick. Inside, we were humbled to see a small classroom devoid of colour and toys, bare except for an old wooden bench and a rusty filing cabinet.

This eye-opening cultural experience in a remote tribal village highlights the lack of opportunity for children like these across our planet – and how lucky we are in comparison to lead privileged lives in more urban centres of the world.