Home Alone - Photography gives strength and comfort to Nicaraguan children left behind

June 24, 2008

From participatory photography to empowerment for social change

In Nicaragua, as in many low-income countries, children are commonly left on their own at home, responsible for taking care of younger siblings and doing other domestic tasks while their parents and older siblings are working. These children risk having their rights violated. They often live in poverty, without regular guidance, protection or care from an adult caretaker. Lacking any adults or peers to talk to causes strong feelings of loneliness and isolation for many children.

CrozzCom, an NGO based in Spain, started working with such children in Nicaragua within the Home Alone project with an initial photography workshop in 2005. By making it possible for children to give voice to their experiences, the project creates awareness and promotes key changes and interventions suggested by the children themselves.
How to become a child photographer
At the first workshop, 14 girls and 18 boys were provided with disposable cameras and introduced to the basics of photography to help them use the cameras on their own. Disposable cameras were chosen because they are relatively cheap and easy to replace if they are lost, stolen or broken.
By taking photographs, the participants gained an enhanced sense of self, becoming the protagonists both behind and in front of the camera. Many of the child photographers engaged other family members to take photos of them doing chores. This encouraged the children to focus on their own lives.
Telling their stories in interviews
All of the workshop participants also had a chance to express themselves through individual video interviews. The photographs they had taken provided common ground to which both the interviewer and the child could refer during the interview. Taken together, the children’s photographs and the footage from their interviews generated audio-visual narratives about their lives.
One fascinating aspect of this participatory approach to child photography has been its empowerment value. By visually documenting a normal day and then talking about the photographs, the children have become more aware of their contribution to their families - which also has made them feel important. Most of these children had never been asked about their opinions or feelings before.

Never home alone again
In addition, the child photographer method produces a tangible record that seems to be of great importance to children - not only as a memory to keep after the project ends but also as a source of strength to which the child can turn when needed.
“It gives me company when I am feeling alone,” said one 13-year-old girl, describing how she feels when she looks at her photo album.

Child photographers, child researchers
The child photographer method encourages children to reflect on their own situation and increases their concern and awareness about other youths living in similar circumstances. In an interview, a 12-year-old girl participant in the project indicated that she had been talking to other children in her community about being left home alone. Based on her and other children’s wishes to interview their peers, CrozzCom developed an activity for child researchers.
In this activity, the children themselves selected others to interview. Participants were divided into smaller groups according to the communities where they lived. Together with a leader, the groups visited selected households with a question guide developed in advance. Each group received one disposable camera, a notebook and pencils to document the visits and the interviews.

Opportunities for sustainable change
Participatory photography has given these children the strength to talk about the harsh conditions they face. It has bolstered their self-esteem and sense of identity, as well as their ability to analyze problems and develop potential solutions.
This approach is not just a matter of giving children cameras and then exhibiting the photographs to others. Instead, participatory photography offers a range of opportunities for involving children in projects and programmes that directly concern their lives. Besides being fun, it provides opportunities for people, young and old, to meet and exchange views and opinions - a prerequisite for achieving any sustainable change in society.