Precious Images Give Orphans Hope

The Memory Project Creates Portraits Of Children Who Are Often Forgotten

(CBS)  At the base of a volcano in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, there's an orphanage. Although Third World orphanages aren't normally festive places, on this day, at this time, CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman reports that there was reason to celebrate: the arrival of a young man named Ben Schumaker.

Schumaker comes from a faraway place called Wisconsin, and he comes bearing gifts. "Ideally these would be something that the kids could hold onto for their whole lives," he says.

Schumaker carries a suitcase with 62 pounds of portraits — portraits of the kids, a painting for just about each and every one of them.

"They share everything, so they don't have much they can call their very own," says Jayden Kirn, a director at the orphanage. "I think it will touch them profoundly once they get down and get a private moment to sit and look at that picture."

Remember, these kids didn't have parents snapping baby pictures. Most don't even have a single photo, let alone a precious painting.

Schumaker calls this The Memory Project. The idea is to establish a sense of personal heritage. He started it in college and still runs it out of a bedroom at his parents' house in Madison, Wis. So far, he's given out more than 4,000 portraits to orphans around the world.

Of course, Schumaker doesn't paint them all. Instead, he gets someone to take photos of the kids, then sends those photos to high school art teachers across the United States; the teachers assign the portraits to their students.

This is where the idea goes from good to genius. The American kids who paint these portraits have to spend hours staring into the faces of their orphan subjects. Schumaker says that after working on them for so long — after painting their eyes especially — there's often a real connection.

"Every day they come into the art classroom and, bam — there it is — looking right into the eyes," he says. "To be totally honest, that's the main reason why I do this work."

Schumaker says for every portrait he gives out, there's a student back home who is now a little more aware of our needy world. That's why he eventually says he'd like to make his Memory Project part of every high school art class in the country.

"And if it can raise the net level of compassion in the world by that much, I'll be happy," he says.

To Schumaker, compassion is a word that's worth a thousand pictures.

To learn more about The Memory Project, click here. To find out more about the orphanage featured in the story, go to Friends Of The Orphans.

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To read a CBS News producer's account of covering the Memory Project, click here.

[chocko2]

Your segment on "Precious Images" was terrific. I hope you continue to promote the worthiness of stories and projects like these.

John Tsolakos
Munster Indiana

[pineda6]

I was most impress with the report of Steve Hartman regarding the work performed in orphanage in latin america
As past president of the AIPEUC Association of Peruvian Institution in the United State and Canada, as a photographer and author I have done work in Peru with needed institutions regarding children. I would like additional informations if work has been done in Peru. Having art students participate is a beaautiful way to built human relationships
I may be contacted at [e-mail] or through www.visionsofperu.com
thank you for your consideration in this matter
and for the great report
Monique Pineda

[leeza_p]

I am an American from a foriegn origin. I am proud to be from India and feel very fortunate to be able to live in USA.
I am extremely touched to see that someone of the "X" genereation has such compassion to carry on work of this cadre. Hats off to you Sir.

[hermit22]

Hartman has a heart!

[cgriggs00]

I was a volunteer at the NPH orphanage in Nicaragua for a year and it is a true blessing that people like Schumaker work to do great things in the lives of these children. I can attest to the fact that these children have very little and the one thing they want more than anything is for someone to love and care for them. Kudos to Schumaker and CBS for bringing the marginalized lives of these children to the attention of our nation. Doing good is really as simple as a picture or a letter, every American has the ability to make a difference, but do we have the will?

Chris Griggs
Atlanta, GA

[fredthehead4]

THAT WAS A VERY TOUCHING STORY, KEEP IT GOING MAKE A PART OF A STUDENTS GRADE TO MAKE A DIFFERANCE IN SOME ONES LIFE THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE THAT WANT CHILDREN HELP THEM ADOPT LETS TAKE OUR CHILDREN OUT OF POVERTY ALL OVER THE WORLD AND MAYBE THEY WILL GROW UP WITH LOVE OF LIFE .FRED WATERHOLTER ELMIRA NY

[shmayisrael]

Thank you for a refreshing delightful story!!! What an amazing idea and the win win part of it all is that it involves our students in something that is teaching them to "give" and be a positive memory moment in someone elses world.
I love it. Keep giving us something more than the New York Times sound bytes that EVERY news service thinks they have to copy! I loved your news program...and I hate watching news. I never watch CBS...until now.
Thanks Katie