Picture power: girls striving for change
How photography is helping to change the lives of young women in Kenya
Young people are the key to creating change.
On August 12, the United Nations will hold the International Youth Day. To celebrate we take a look at photographs captured by teenage mothers and pregnant girls in Kenya.
Their photos are helping to transform the way they are perceived by their parents and communities, and more importantly pushing decision-makers to act.
Daisy: he loves me not
Daisy Chepkoech is a lively 17-year old with a twinkle in her eyes.
She is one of the 13 teenage girls who took part in a week-long Christian Aid photography training workshop. All of the participants were either are pregnant or had young children.
The girls were chosen from a wide-range of communities in Narok county, Kenya, where Christian Aid and our partner the Transmara Rural Development Programme are implementing a project aimed at improving nutrition and sexual health amongst pregnant and lactating teenage girls.
The project aims to reverse the high number of pregnancies amongst adolescents in Narok county. The pregnancy rate in Narok is 22% higher than the national average, sitting at 40% compared to the national rate of 18%.
In addition to conducting research, Christian Aid’s photography workshop sought to gain first-hand knowledge of the challenges facing teenage girls in Narok.
Through a methodology called Picture Power, the girls received basic photography training enabling them to document their experiences as teenagers and the challenges they face to feed themselves and their young children.
In the first practical exercise of the training, Daisy came forward and was keen to be photographed. This was welcome as that the girls appeared very reserved and a little cautious.
Daisy has a three-year-old son. Unlike others, she did not bring him along to the training.
Here are some of Daisy’s photos, documenting some of the challenges she faces.
‘We have half an acre of land, some of this is for the houses and the remaining is being cultivated. I wish I could plant for myself and my baby. I can’t plant because the family plot is small.’
‘This is a corn and beans mixture that has cooked well in school. It’s the only good meal I eat in a day. When I go home, the food is not enough for me and my baby.’
‘This cow belongs to my uncle, I would like to have milk for my baby and myself, but I can’t have it. Me and my Mum do casual work to get money for milk.’
During a visit to her home, Daisy opened up and told us how she got pregnant. Daisy was only 14 years old at the time.
‘I had some pains in my stomach, so I went to the health centre where the nurse told me that I was eight-months pregnant.’
Despite teenage pregnancy being quite common in Narok, the girls are stigmatised and viewed as bringing shame to their families.
Some are married to the father of their children. Others, just have to carry on as young single mothers.
‘When I found out that I was pregnant, I wanted to throw myself into the water and die,’ Daisy said.
When asked about the father of her child, her voice lowers.
‘I went to the clinic and a practising pharmacist raped me. When I tried to scream he covered my mouth.’
After this, Daisy became sick from the stress, but didn’t tell her mother about the rape. It was only after the delivery of her baby, that she told her mother who reported the crime to the police. But it was too late, the man had fled the area.
Despite her harrowing experience, her tender age and the huge responsibility on her shoulders, Daisy goes to school while her mother looks after her son. This has not been easy.
She will never forget the day she came home after giving birth, her baby wrapped in the jumper she was wearing on the day.
She watched as her family enjoyed a nice meal, while she was given pumpkin with no cream and no salt.
‘My Mum humiliates me every time I speak to her, even now,’ Daisy said.
The power of photos
The Picture Power exhibition was the start of a dialogue amongst the community around how to tackle some of the challenges faced by teenage girls.
The community exhibition displayed the photographs captured by Daisy and the other girls with around 600 people including teachers, religious leaders, community chiefs, mothers and teenage school girls attending.
While Daisy may not see the changes, her work will positively impact the lives of girls in the future.
Daisy’s troubles are not over, but you can hear her voice through her photographs.
