Photographer Uses Her Heart To Empower Youth Living In African Slum

Natalia Jidovanu is a photographer who is working to use her art to teach children living in Africa’s largest slum to express themselves more powerfully. Visit her Indiegogo campaign.

Natalia shared some insights about her project with GoodCrowd.info.

What is the social benefit you hope to achieve with or through your crowdfunding campaign?

Through a participatory photography methodology, this project aims to give a voice to the voiceless children of Kibera and their underrepresented experiences and struggles. This is an opportunity for them to get actively involved in the community and to be seen and heard in their society and worldwide. By making photographs of their everyday life, children will develop a life-long skill and learn how to use photography as a mean of communication, advocacy and awareness raising.

Photography will inspire curiosity and creativity, then children can search for opportunities out of their neighborhood or can use their photography and story-telling skills to raise funds for the school or to promote new businesses. In capturing their life within the camera frame, they will be building, image by image, their self-confidence and a greater sense of control over their lives. The project will help children to understand that the life of young people in Kibera is a story worth telling and that there is a place for them, in their community, in their country, in the world. Photography is a universal language and it can also act as a catalyst for greater international involvement and positive governmental change.

How much money are you hoping to raise and why? How much have you raised so far?

We need to raise 7500 USD to cover the following project’s expenses: Cameras and equipment (printer, paper, memory cards); Website for online gallery; Post-production, edition and printing of the photobook; Public exhibition of the final work; Museums and galleries visits – admission and transportation for the children; Project coordination, monitoring and evaluation; Post cards, prints for the reward and shipping expenses.

We raised 305 USD.

Whom are you trying to help with your project and why?

Kibera is the biggest slum in the African Continent and one of the most densely populated places on the planet. Half of the Kiberians are under the age of 15 and there are an estimated 100.000 orphaned children in the slum. A study carried out by Oxfam in 2003 deduced that 37% of children of school-going age were out of the education system altogether, while only 30% of the remaining children were receiving free formal primary school education and the other 70% only had access to a limited education at non-formal schools and community centres. The project aims to provide children living in Kibera with free cameras, photography and story-telling training. Through a participatory methodology, we will teach children to operate the camera as a tool, to interpret images and to understand the power of photographs to take the message, to engage and mobilize people and to advance social change. This is their opportunity to express themselves through the camera lens about their own rights and social inequality.

What rewards, if any, are you offering to your supporters?

• 5 USD – We will personally thank you on social media and your name will be listed on our website as a supporter.

• 15 USD – A postcard featuring a photo from the book with a thank you note written by the children.

• 60 USD – A full-color 5×7 photo taken by one of the participants, complete with their narrative + Five 15×15 cm signed prints from the series.

• 100 USD – A digital PDF version of the photobook sent to your email.

• 250 USD – You will have the opportunity to decide the theme for one of the photograph series in the final photobook + A full-color 5×7 photo taken by one of the participants, complete with their narrative + A digital PDF version of the photobook sent to your email.

• 500 USD – You will have the opportunity to decide the theme for one of the photograph series in the final photobook + 2 full-color 5×7 photos taken by the participants, complete with their narrative + A personal dedication to you in the book + Book with a handwritten thank you message from the children.

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