orphans
An awareness initiative by NGO Happy Families brought together American and Russian photographers to document orphans with varying disabilities in and around the Moscow area. I was sent to the Sergiev-Posad orphanage for deaf and blind children a few hours outside of Moscow. The orphans I documented varied in age from 4 to 10 and some with severe mental disabilities since birth. The purpose is to promote awareness about disabled orphans in Russia as well as the need for greater accessibility of public spaces for the disabled.
Irina, 7 years old and deaf with some vision problems, swam at the Sergiev-Posad orphanage for deaf and blind children. May 19, 2011
