A photo a day makes a difference for young women

Amina Mohamed moved to Canada when she was three years old as a refugee from Uganda. She and her family lived  at St Catherine’s, close to the border of the US and Canada. Amina was raised in a strict Muslim household,  and she believes  her parents wanted the best for them.

“But as refugees, you grow tethered to where you came from and where you have come to live. We did not have a lot of money but my parents taught me that giving back to others was the way to go and that would make this world a better place,” Amina recalls.
At 10 years of age,  Amina picked interest in photography when her father gave her a Kodak instamatic camera. A camera she carried everywhere, taking photos. 

“Back then it was not digital so you had to think before you pressed the shutter and I loved photography from the moment I touched it. I never thought I could make it a career because growing up in a Muslim household as a girl, you are told that such is not for you. You ought to become a doctor, lawyer or…and I was always a creative person but never pursued photography until I was much older,” she says.
In a way, Amina believes her mother’s creativity rubbed off on her. She cannot forget seeing her mother’s art that ranged from crocheted blankets, plant hangers, a painted picture to other items she made using Japanese needle art. 

“She was a seamstress, sold wedding dresses or made clothes for others. So, when I graduated from high school, I did not know where to go with my life, so I looked at my mother  and got inspired by her work.  I went into fashion design,” she relates adding that this did not last but it landed her in the wardrobe department of film.
“She has always taught me how to look at things creatively and I can look at  something and think outside the box with a different solution than somebody else might have. Some people will call that crazy but I call it innovative.”

Back home
In 2007, Amina made her first trip back home to discover her roots. At that time, she was working in the film and television industry and had been working in various capacities as wardrobe assistant, producer and production manager. She had by this time moved into producing documentaries. 
Amina was directing and producing her first documentary about the return of the Indians to Uganda to reclaim the property they had lost due to the expulsion by president Amin. This trip would later change her life.
 “I witnessed girls as young as 14 being married off to older men, sometimes and by the time they were in their 20s they had many children they could not clothe, educate or feed because they also had not had an education. I was gutted and knew I wanted to do something with my knowledge in photography or storytelling and pass it on to make the world a better place.”

She did not know where to start because she had moved out of film and TV. She was in a different industry in financial services and was making good money. On the inside, she missed her artistic side; she had to put photography and storytelling away. 
“My cousin called me to cover  her wedding which I did. As soon as I touched that camera, it woke me up to the possibilities of how photography would empower females in the developing world. Originally, I wanted to go to Gulu to teach girls who had been affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) but then they neither had internet nor electricity and if the girls came to school, it was intermittent,” Amina recounts her beginnings.

Venex, a close friend told Amina that girls who graduate from university journalism-based programmes cannot easily get jobs as journalists or in communications or as photographers because they cannot afford resources such as cameras.
“Also, they do not have the hands-on training, a gender-based barrier that holds them back from getting jobs in journalism or getting paid work,” she recollects.
 However, the males who do not even have a camera have their way into the industry. So, the disparities touched Amina who felt the need to intervene. From there, Cameras for Girls was born.

Beneficiary says
Close to about four years in journalism school, 24-year-old Annet Namusisi could not press a camera shutter or even power it on. 
“I didn’t know anything about photography, I had never held a camera or dreamt of holding one,” Namusisi says.
Namusisi picked up the art of photography when she was gifted her first camera by Amina. She discovered this programme through her lecturer  John Baptist Imokola, whom she says volunteers at Cameras for Girls.  The photo enthusiast has never regretted taking up this opportunity . She  was one of the  15 young women who completed a four-day photo workshop which Amina was facilitating.  Little did she know that 11 months later, she would have one of her photos exhibited at Areej Art Centre in Toronto, Canada.  Namusisi’s  photo was bought  and she will use  the  funds  to support  her family. 

Her story has now changed, “even if I am not the best photographer, for someone who did not know any kind of photography, I can now take some really good photos. and my specialty is portraiture.”   
From the start of the programme in June 2022, Namusisi and her colleagues have continued taking a two-hour virtual photo training session with Amina every Friday. This, she says will end in June this year.  The volunteer at God’s Love  Records  lauds Amina who she calls not just a mentor, but a mother who is committed to uplifting the female gender.

“Amina is committed to supporting women, I love how she encourages us and makes sure  we all have the necessary resources to be successful careerwise. I have learnt a lot about photography and, I have been able to exhibit one of my photos in Toronto, Canada. I have also had an opportunity to interact with other girls in the programme,” Namusisi remarks. 
Today, Amina has taught photography to 47 girls in Uganda and 65 per cent  or 32 women now have full-time paid work in the journalism, photography and communications sectors. Through her programme, Amina has also supported 85 women across Africa with photography and business skills curriculum via a purpose-built library of training videos and Zoom training sessions conducted weekly.

Balancing motherhood and career    
Regardless of her 24/7 schedule aimed at making a difference with women in Africa, she still has responsibilities to family.
Amina adopted Haile at three years and she is now 15 years old, but had special needs. The youngster a  difficult early childhood laced with a lot of abuse and trauma.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, they moved to the countryside because Haile was struggling.
“We could not find support in school and after we moved, it took me long to advocate for her wellbeing. It has taken me eight years to get Haile help and her life has changed. She is in air cadets and is doing really well in school. She is stable, happy and we are happy as a family,” the photographer relates.

Her daughter knows that the mother will be in Africa for six weeks but she understands that ‘mom is always there to sort her needs as well’.
“I am  lucky to have a husband who really pitches in when I am away at work. He will take time off work, take over what I cannot do while I am away, and my parents who really support me because they live with us now. So, they can drop her off and pick her up from school, take her to doctor’s appointments. I am lucky to have a supportive family. Since she is a little bit older now I can step away,  focus on the work and then come home and focus on her.  But balancing her needs with what I have to do is always a juggle like any other mother  experiences.
 Bottom line she admits that it is a delicate balance and trying to find time for self-care is always a challenge.

Compromise 
Learning to say no not to my family, not to my child but to outside pressures from other people, other well-meaning friends with advice or work demands. 
“Sometimes I have to learn to say no or to turn down juicy opportunities that I might benefit me but don’t help my family or my child. If I had not been as dedicated a parent as I am to my child’s needs, I can guarantee you she would not be where she is ,”she reveals. 
Haile can ask for help when she needs it, without getting angry as she used to. 

Amina counts that as a huge win.
“She wants to become an astronaut, she might not get there, but we always tell her to always reach for the stars. If you want something badly, you can get it. I always tell the girls in the programme that if you want something bad enough, you just have to work hard and you will get there.

Two cents to working mothers 
Do not feel that you have to be a superwoman.
“I feel that I am not doing enough for my husband, my child or for others. If you cannot put your mask on at the end day and self-care, you are no good to anybody. We are hoping on our first vacation to celebrate my husband’s 50th birthday.

It has been hard for me to accept I will go because in three weeks I have to go to Uganda to lead our fourth workshop, but I also realise that I have responsibilities to my family, to my husband of 21 years this year, to my child, to my extended family and to myself.
This one-week off is going to be empowering and helpful for my mindset and Iwill leave my computer at home for the first time ever which is going to be stressful but I have to do it. I still tell working mothers that you can have it all. 

You just need to schedule your time accordingly and learn  to say no and put boundaries in place for your time and for your self-care and your personal needs because as mothers we can sacrifice for everybody else and not ourselves. Then, we burn out. We get angry and frustrated. Nobody wins at the end of the day.  
Amina will be travelling to Uganda in June to train the 2023-2024 cohort and award the 2022-2023 their certificates of completion.

The  male-dominated field
Globally, most industries are male-dominated, but  stand up for yourself.

 For example, when I worked in film and TV from the late 1980s to the 2000s, I rose from catering to wardrobe then production. As  a producer  I would hear stuff like, «oh you do not belong here, you are a girl!  Or, ‘women do not belong in this industry.’  I would reply,  ‘you just met the  first woman in this industry who is here  to stay, so watch out!’ 
Have confidence, self-awareness and belief. Do not let anybody around you dictate who you are, who you should be and what you should be doing. If you have the goal or  passion to be something,  go and make it happen. 

Whether you have the money, the circumstances, the training, find the people who are going to support you to realise  it. Do not listen to negtivity, listen to your gut, your heart and just do what you want to do. 
We have only got one life to live.