West Essex High School National Art Honor Society Creates Portraits of Orphans in Vietnam as part of Memory Project

For the eighth consecutive year, thirty members of the West Essex National Art Honor Society created a portrait of a child who has been orphaned by war, famine, disease or disaster. Society Advisor Eileen Dormer said the portraits are created for the young orphans as part of the Memory Portrait Project. Each student receives a photo of an orphan and then creates a portrait of them, which after a short display period in the high school, will be personally delivered to each child. Each portrait will include a photo of the West Essex artist on the back and a special note to the child.

Later, the West Essex National Art Honor Society artists will receive photos of their subjects, holding their portrait, and a video of the children as they react to their gifts. For many orphans, this portrait becomes a treasured belonging, reminding them that they are not forgotten. For our students, the experience of studying the face of a child who is so much less fortunate than they are is a true awakening. In the past, our students have drawn portraits of orphans from war-torn Uganda and AIDS-ridden Honduras and Myanmar where the cyclone destroyed so many families.  This year, West Essex was assigned orphans from Vietnam.

"It is so nice to do something for someone else for a change," said Alison Hale. "It is nice to make art for someone else. i hope it brightens their day."

Channon Chung said she hoped one day to see another photo of the infant she drew "all grown up."

"I hope the orphans enjoy getting the finished product," Sydney Mason said. "I really enjoyed making the portrait."

For more information, visit www.thememoryproject.org.