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The Memory Keepers

By Andrea Delbanco

For some kids, old photos and baby pictures are embarrassing. For others, they are cherished keepsakes. But for thousands of children living in orphanages worldwide, these records of the past simply don't exist. Either the kids' parents weren't around to snap photos, or the pictures have been lost. Whatever the reason, the Memory Project is giving orphans a lasting document of their youth.

Over the last two years, the Memory Project has provided hand-painted portraits to more than 4,000 children living in orphanages in poor countries. Ben Schumaker, 24, got the idea when he was visiting an orphanage in Guatemala, in Central America. But he's not creating the portraits alone. Students in hundreds of high school art classes across the U.S. paint them using photos sent from the orphanages.

Schumaker believes that the artists benefit from the project as much as the orphans do. "There are two purposes of the Memory Project," he told TFK. "One is to offer a special gift to the child abroad. The other is to help open the eyes of the student who is painting." Staring into the eyes of another person, Schumaker believes, creates a real connection. This connection raises awareness in U.S. schools about the needs of the world's poor children. "It's about planting a seed," he says.

Schumaker is also working on Books of Hope, a project in which students of all ages put together homemade books for children in Uganda and India. He hopes that one day children in Uganda and India will send books to the U.S. "It's important to me to have it be a two-way exchange," Schumaker says.

To get your class involved, go to thememoryproject.org.

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