"A family or a future" (by Margaret Fenton)

Lydia Samuels, 5, scratches a rash spread across her back while outside the Mary Diana Samuels Trust, an orphanage in Thiruvallur, India. The girls were outside drawing pictures with chalk on the sidewalks at dusk, after the midday heat and sun abated.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:53:16 +0000

Lydia Samuels, 5, scratches a rash spread across her back while outside the Mary Diana Samuels Trust, an orphanage in Thiruvallur, India. The girls were outside drawing pictures with chalk on the sidewalks at dusk, after the midday heat and sun abated.
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Eleven-year-old Karen Samuels runs around a pillar and down the hallway past dormitory rooms at the orphanage.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:53:32 +0000

Eleven-year-old Karen Samuels runs around a pillar and down the hallway past dormitory rooms at the orphanage.
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Julie, 11, center, helps Lydia, left, and Andhi, both 5, get dressed in the morning. The older girls at the orphanage are responsible for much of the care given the younger ones.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:53:46 +0000

Julie, 11, center, helps Lydia, left, and Andhi, both 5, get dressed in the morning. The older girls at the orphanage are responsible for much of the care given the younger ones.
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Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:54:03 +0000

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Maria, 9, left, Jannan, 8, and Karen, 11, take notes and discuss during an English lesson at the orphanage. The girls are in classes through most of the day, though they are on vacation from school.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:54:33 +0000

Maria, 9, left, Jannan, 8, and Karen, 11, take notes and discuss during an English lesson at the orphanage. The girls are in classes through most of the day, though they are on vacation from school.
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Each morning, the children start their exercises promptly at 6:45 a.m., before the sun beats down mercilessly once more.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:55:43 +0000

Each morning, the children start their exercises promptly at 6:45 a.m., before the sun beats down mercilessly once more.
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Paul, 11, tightens the strings on a drum outside the orphanage while the girls have a music lesson. The two boys, siblings of girls also in the facility, were often left to their own devices, keeping with the Indian tradition of boys and girls being raised seperately on some level.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:56:07 +0000

Paul, 11, tightens the strings on a drum outside the orphanage while the girls have a music lesson. The two boys, siblings of girls also in the facility, were often left to their own devices, keeping with the Indian tradition of boys and girls being raised seperately on some level.
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Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:56:25 +0000

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The girls at the orphanage put on all of their bangles one morning. They sit in the hallway, every space filled with bodies and clothing - a constant shifting of people.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:56:40 +0000

The girls at the orphanage put on all of their bangles one morning. They sit in the hallway, every space filled with bodies and clothing - a constant shifting of people.
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Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:57:34 +0000

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Julie Samuel, 11, goes through her own morning routine after washing and dressing the rest of the girls in the room.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:59:17 +0000

Julie Samuel, 11, goes through her own morning routine after washing and dressing the rest of the girls in the room.
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Jannan, 8, left, and Ruby, 5, practice a yoga pose during the morning exercises.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:01:22 +0000

Jannan, 8, left, and Ruby, 5, practice a yoga pose during the morning exercises.
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Lydia, 5, mixes together the fish curry and rice served for lunch. The children rarely have the luxury of meat, but the quantity of rice and vegetables surpasses their prior diet by far.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:04:06 +0000

Lydia, 5, mixes together the fish curry and rice served for lunch. The children rarely have the luxury of meat, but the quantity of rice and vegetables surpasses their prior diet by far.
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Grace, 7, far, left, Donna, 11, Kalairsi, 5, and Florence, 7, stand and recite the "Our Father" prayer before beginning their lessons in the morning.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:04:38 +0000

Grace, 7, far, left, Donna, 11, Kalairsi, 5, and Florence, 7, stand and recite the "Our Father" prayer before beginning their lessons in the morning.
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Malar Selve Thangaraj smears a stain across Andhi's lips. It is summer vacation and the girls are playing dress up. In their best outfits, the ones kept sealed in a plastic bag under the bed, and all the plastic jewelry they own, they wait for their turn to be a daughter again. For one moment, their surrogate mother, her attention constantly divided between 35 of them, will paint their face and shower them with attention.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:07:45 +0000

Malar Selve Thangaraj smears a stain across Andhi's lips. It is summer vacation and the girls are playing dress up. In their best outfits, the ones kept sealed in a plastic bag under the bed, and all the plastic jewelry they own, they wait for their turn to be a daughter again. For one moment, their surrogate mother, her attention constantly divided between 35 of them, will paint their face and shower them with attention.
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Kailarsi, 5, touches her face, now covered in powder to prevent a rash that seems to run rampant in the summer heat at the orphanage. She watches the older girls ahead putting on makeup as the girls around here preen and adjust each other as well.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:09:23 +0000

Kailarsi, 5, touches her face, now covered in powder to prevent a rash that seems to run rampant in the summer heat at the orphanage. She watches the older girls ahead putting on makeup as the girls around here preen and adjust each other as well.
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Maria Samuel, 9, erases an answer from the board after being corrected by Malar Selve Thangaraj, a former school director who now manages the orphanage with her husband. The children continue to study math, English, Tamil, science and other subjects though school is out for the summer.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:12:18 +0000

Maria Samuel, 9, erases an answer from the board after being corrected by Malar Selve Thangaraj, a former school director who now manages the orphanage with her husband. The children continue to study math, English, Tamil, science and other subjects though school is out for the summer.
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Prayer and Bible study are an integral part of life at the orphanage. Morning and evening, the children recite Bible verses by heart and sing songs, some in Tamil, some in English.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:12:37 +0000

Prayer and Bible study are an integral part of life at the orphanage. Morning and evening, the children recite Bible verses by heart and sing songs, some in Tamil, some in English.
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Julie, 11, below, and Mercy, 7, rest in the middle of the afternoon, avoiding the intense sun and heat outside. The bunk beds are three tiers high in each room, but not all are full. The orphanage has space to house 130 children, but holds only 35 now.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:12:54 +0000

Julie, 11, below, and Mercy, 7, rest in the middle of the afternoon, avoiding the intense sun and heat outside. The bunk beds are three tiers high in each room, but not all are full. The orphanage has space to house 130 children, but holds only 35 now.
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Some of the girls draw on the sidewalk with chalk, covering the path to the orphanage with layers of brightly-colored designs.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:13:18 +0000

Some of the girls draw on the sidewalk with chalk, covering the path to the orphanage with layers of brightly-colored designs.
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Mercy, 7, pulls her bag of clothing from under her bed in the morning to get dressed for the day. Most of the girls have only two or three hand-me-down outfits that they wear, even to bed.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:14:14 +0000

Mercy, 7, pulls her bag of clothing from under her bed in the morning to get dressed for the day. Most of the girls have only two or three hand-me-down outfits that they wear, even to bed.
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Andihi, 5, right, waits in the doorway for a bath at the Maria Diana Samuels Trust in Thiruvallur, India. Julie, 11, far left, acts as an older sister to the room of girls, washing 5-year-old Lydia's hair with cold water.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:15:03 +0000

Andihi, 5, right, waits in the doorway for a bath at the Maria Diana Samuels Trust in Thiruvallur, India. Julie, 11, far left, acts as an older sister to the room of girls, washing 5-year-old Lydia's hair with cold water.
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The playground is sheer chaos. Once the caretakers turn their backs, the decibels increase. Running, pushing, tickling and yelling, the social life of the girls comes rushing out past their very polite and demure classroom manner.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:15:17 +0000

The playground is sheer chaos. Once the caretakers turn their backs, the decibels increase. Running, pushing, tickling and yelling, the social life of the girls comes rushing out past their very polite and demure classroom manner.
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Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:17:53 +0000

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Rebecca, 8, folds her hands in prayer at the end of a Bible study in the evening.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:18:08 +0000

Rebecca, 8, folds her hands in prayer at the end of a Bible study in the evening.
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Snaha, 5, repeats a lesson in Tamil during an early morning study session. Even though the girls are on summer vaction, the heat keeps them inside through most of the day.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:19:49 +0000

Snaha, 5, repeats a lesson in Tamil during an early morning study session. Even though the girls are on summer vaction, the heat keeps them inside through most of the day.
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Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:20:04 +0000

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Ruby, 5, left, come down the slide outside the orphanage. The girls spend much of the day in line, politely studying and answering questions. Once their feet hit the playground, chaos ensues and smiles abound.

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:21:00 +0000

Ruby, 5, left, come down the slide outside the orphanage. The girls spend much of the day in line, politely studying and answering questions. Once their feet hit the playground, chaos ensues and smiles abound.
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Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:21:51 +0000

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