The Silent Children Project

Description

ced by photographer Paul Kline and his wife Mercedes in an effort to increase public awareness of the conditions in which orphaned and at-risk children live around the world. For 150 million children the main cause of their silence is the fact that their main advocates, namely their parents, are no longer in place to support them through their young lives. These children are at best being cared for through the dedication and generosity of others. However, some are not so lucky. They are, in effect, silent to communities, governments, donors, society, and the media. Mercedes and Paul Kline have been traveling the globe documenting the living conditions of these children through the medium of photography, samples of which are exhibited on this site. The project documents the lives of these vulnerable children while working to emphasize the differences and commonalities among orphans from different geographical regions, economic backgrounds, and cultures. The project exposes the distress and misfortune that these young people face, yet avoids stereotyping the children’s living conditions by race, religion, gender, or any other factor.