After receiving a Connecting Communities Grant from Optus for a PhotoVoice Project, Steph and Sunny put all the plans into place to head to Minyerri before the rains started.
PhotoVoice projects span four continents, assisting refugees, street children, orphans, people affected by HIV/ AIDS and special needs groups by encouraging them to share their story through taking photographs. These photos are then generally exhibited in a variety of mediums as a way to communicate and address serious issues faced by those who are disadvantaged.
‘PhotoVoice involves enabling those who have traditionally been the subject of such work to be the creator – to have control over the rest of the world while simultaneously learning a new skill which can enhance their lives’ (www.photovoice.org.au).
Facilitating a PhotoVoice project in Minyerri provided isolated and disadvantaged indigenous youth with an opportunity to share an insight into what living in Minyerri means to them while leaning a new skill. It was also a way for Desert2Surf to identify any felt needs within the community and address these in our programs.
The project was a huge success and the joy the kids took in taking photos and describing these in scrap books was incredibly moving. The underlying theme in the photos taken was family – the most important thing in the lives of these kids.
Desert2Surf exhibited a collection of the photographs in June 2010 to share stories from Minyerri and raise funds.
Tags: Event, Photovoice