The Selection Process
We select children aged 10, two girls for each boy, with the aim of nurturing trail-blazing pioneers from their communities.
To select children our expert teams travel to some of the most remote areas in the world where extreme poverty exists and local schools are under-resourced.
We identify children, aged 10, who excel in academic performance and emotional intelligence.
Home visits are conducted to assess the socio-economic conditions of the families. We choose the brightest children from the poorest households for their potential to become role models and changemakers in their communities.
Over twenty years of experience have honed selection processes which are subject to rigorous scrutiny by local Boards. With the encouragement of their families, we offer these children a life-transforming opportunity to leave behind the difficulties of rural poverty and welcome them to one of our Pestalozzi Villages.
With our emphasis on refugees, our Villages are multi-faith and multi-national communities that promote tolerance and diversity. Twelve nationalities are represented in our three Villages.
It's incredible to get a glimpse into the worlds of some of our future children, their families and towns, and their entire worlds right now
Our Zambian Director, Clarence Mwami, discusses the process of selecting our children.
Images from the difficult task of selecting children from remote areas of India and Nepal.
Selection in the foothills of the Himalayas
Our extraordinary teams go to tremendous efforts to find the perfect children for our programme.
Our Indian Director, Cheme Dolma Palden, and her team carried out a selection visit to the Spiti Valley.
View her stunning photographs of the landscape, the rural villages, the children she interviewed, their families and communities.
