Today, my students began creating 20 portraits for orphaned teens from Indonesia.
These youths are not orphans in the sense that both of their parents are deceased, but rather they are living in orphanages becase of the same reasons that put kids in the USA in foster care: abandonment, abuse, and neglect.
We are participating in The Memory Project.
The Memory Project is a unique initiative in which art students create portraits (drawings, paintings, digital art, etc) for children and teens around the world who have been orphaned, abandoned, neglected, or otherwise disadvantaged. To do this, the artists receive pictures of children who are waiting for portraits. The artists then create the portraits, and The Memory Project coordinates the delivery of the portraits to the children. The goal of the project is to inspire caring and a positive sense of self. The project is directed by the nonprofit organization My Class Cares. Given that children who have been abandoned, orphaned, abused, or neglected usually have few personal keepsakes, the purpose of the portraits is to provide them with a special memory of their youth, to honor their heritage and identity, and to help them build a positive self-image.
Regarding the art students who make the portraits, this is an opportunity for them to open their hearts to children who have endured many hardships, and to promote the value of sharing kindness with others.
The project was developed by Ben Schumaker as a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin. In 2003, while volunteering in Guatemala, Ben encountered a man who had grown up in an orphanage. This man explained that he did not have any personal belongings from his youth. He suggested that Ben help the kids collect special items that would contribute to their sense of identity and self-worth. From this, Ben envisioned that having portraits made by art students would be a way to connect American youth with kids from other countries in a meaningful exchange of caring. The Memory Project was officially born in the fall of 2004.
In total, art students from the USA, UK, and Canada have created more than 25,000 portraits for children around the world.
Each year The Memory Project coordinates the delivery of 6,000 portraits around the world!
More information on The Memory Project can be found online at http://www.thememoryproject.org/.
Mary
These youths are not orphans in the sense that both of their parents are deceased, but rather they are living in orphanages becase of the same reasons that put kids in the USA in foster care: abandonment, abuse, and neglect.
We are participating in The Memory Project.
The Memory Project is a unique initiative in which art students create portraits (drawings, paintings, digital art, etc) for children and teens around the world who have been orphaned, abandoned, neglected, or otherwise disadvantaged. To do this, the artists receive pictures of children who are waiting for portraits. The artists then create the portraits, and The Memory Project coordinates the delivery of the portraits to the children. The goal of the project is to inspire caring and a positive sense of self. The project is directed by the nonprofit organization My Class Cares. Given that children who have been abandoned, orphaned, abused, or neglected usually have few personal keepsakes, the purpose of the portraits is to provide them with a special memory of their youth, to honor their heritage and identity, and to help them build a positive self-image.
Regarding the art students who make the portraits, this is an opportunity for them to open their hearts to children who have endured many hardships, and to promote the value of sharing kindness with others.
The project was developed by Ben Schumaker as a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin. In 2003, while volunteering in Guatemala, Ben encountered a man who had grown up in an orphanage. This man explained that he did not have any personal belongings from his youth. He suggested that Ben help the kids collect special items that would contribute to their sense of identity and self-worth. From this, Ben envisioned that having portraits made by art students would be a way to connect American youth with kids from other countries in a meaningful exchange of caring. The Memory Project was officially born in the fall of 2004.
In total, art students from the USA, UK, and Canada have created more than 25,000 portraits for children around the world.
Each year The Memory Project coordinates the delivery of 6,000 portraits around the world!
More information on The Memory Project can be found online at http://www.thememoryproject.org/.
Mary
