Nigeria: Group advocates skill acquisition for Girls in IDP camps

A Foundation in Nigeria, Art for Humanity has called on the Creative community, the International community and development agencies to support the continued work of mentorship and skill acquisition to set vulnerable girls at IDP camps on a career path in creative arts and school education.

Art for Humanity foundation is a not-for-profit organization registered with the Nigerian Government in 2017 and organises Abuja Photo Festival.

The Creative Lead for Foundation, Mr. Osaze Efe, made the call at the opening of the 2022 Photo Exhibition with the theme “The Art of Seeing” in Abuja Nigeria’s capital.

Mr. Efe, said that the exhibition aimed at supporting marginalised teenage girls in the Abuja IDP camps, who have strong interest in visual storytelling.

He said; “This project is meant to support young women and girls who have been hugely affected by the insurgency in the north East and further critical conversations and actions needed to help these affected and vulnerable future leaders get their lives together and pursue their dreams.

“There is no better way to communicate an idea other than through imageries. This and many other reasons were what inspired the collaborative efforts Art for humanity foundation, the skilled women initiative and our friends from Spain to use the tool of photography as means for self-expression and economic sustainability for these girls despite all they have gone through.”

 “Photography doesn’t just only show us a view of the world as distant observers, but it primarily gives the photographers the window to express their perceptions about the worlds around them, thereby bringing the observers into their emotional and visual experiences.

 ”This veritable tool of “time travel” has given 13 teenage internally displaced girls a unique opportunity to visually speak up about life, their aspirations and surroundings at the camp as victims of insurgency ravaging North Eastern Nigeria,” Mr Efe explained.

He added added that “this exhibition is not just a showcase of the potential of these beautiful ones but most importantly to serve as a call to all lovers of humanity and believers of the hopes of these 13 teenagers to support us in the continuous work of giving these girls further mentorship and the acquisition of cameras and other tools needed to set them on a career path in creative arts and school education. The images are on sales. We will love for you to make purchases as a way of raising funds to support these precious ones. Their dreams deserve a chance.

”Art for humanity will continue to use the arts to collaborate with various stakeholders in government and the international community to see how together, we can use the power of photography to shift the needle in the direction of human progress”.

A Photographer and Founder of Cómo ser Fotógrafa, Marta Soul, who is training some girls from an IDP camp in Durumi, in Abuja, Nigeria on photography, shares her experience.

Soul said; “This project initially grabbed my attention as it presented a challenging opportunity on a personal level since it would be my first time travelling and working in Sub-Saharan Africa.

”It was one of the most enriching experiences of my life.

The idea of teaching photography to teenage girls while immersed in a cultural context with radically different features to the ones that I normally experience was fascinating as an artistic project. It was also interesting from a different perspective, because it fitted very well with the goals of the platform of female photographers I started less than a year ago”.

The Spanish Embassy in Nigeria  in a statement to the exhibition, reiterated commitment to promote skill in photography

It said; ”Art for Humanity will continue further by providing mentorship and follow-up to a selected number of the participants, which should contribute to a longer-term capacity development after the workshop. An important role in this project was also played by The Skilled Women Initiative’s work, centered on creating employment, entrepreneurial and business start-up opportunities for low-income persons such as 1DPS.”

This photo exhibition was designed and implemented by Art for Humanity Foundation, The Skilled Women Initiative and the Embassy of Spain in Nigeria. It featured pictures taken by 13 girls from the IDP camp Durumi, a short period of 4 days and taking a photo camera for the first time, captured emotions, environment and personal feelings through the lens.

The photo exhibition with the theme “The Art of Seeing”,  was put together  by a Spanish photographer, founder of the female photo platform Cómo ser fotógrafa,  Marta Soul, accompanied by 2 Nigerian photographers, Aderonke Adele and Winifred Ezihulo.

Mercy Chukwudiebere

Mercy Chukwudiebere