Portraits of Compassion

In the exhibit hall of Washington D.C.'s U.S. State Department, there's a new art exhibit that paints foreign relations in a whole new light. The subjects are orphan children from Thailand. Ben Schumaker calls this "The Memory Project." What began in a spare bedroom at Shumaker's parent's house is now a full time venture that has delivered about 25,000 portraits to orphans in 31 different countries around the world. Most of these children have never had an image of themselves. And it's not just those orphans who've benefited. One viewer says the boy in the picture reminded her of her little brother. Another remarks, "You can just tell by looking at their faces what they've been through sometimes." They have learned compassion. To Ben, that's a word worth a thousand pictures.

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