Week 2

Voces y Manos works to help youth become leaders that will be able to affect change in their communites over the long-run. A starting point for developing this identify as community leaders is a belief in oneself and one’s community. That’s why Voces y Manos begins by teaching youth to recognize the strengths of their communities long before they start investigating community needs. During week 2, we introduced students to a community-assessment known as Photovoice. The methodology is simple: Students are taught how to take photos using digital cameras. They then draw a map of their community, listing as many strengths as they can think of. Next, students, accompanied by volunteers, travel to their communities to take photographs of the strengths of their community. They then organize these photographs into a presentation about their community.

On Wednesday, students traveled in groups of three or four to their home communities. We (the volunteers) were excited to have the opportunity to see students “in their element”, and the students in turn were excited to show us all about life in their communities.  Students took pictures of a wide range of community strengths, some that would have completely escaped our gaze: a community clinic, women weaving traditional cloths, people walking to work in the fields, kids playing with each other after school, rivers, trees, and people engaged in conversations. It was fun and informative for all of us.

The next day, we worked with students in their school’s small computer lab to select the photos that the students felt best represented their communities. They then wrote descriptions of each photograph, explaining what the photograph demonstrates about their community, why it is an important strength, and how they might be able to use that strength to help improve the community projects they will eventually develop.

Finally, we introduced students to PowerPoint, a computer program that was new to most of the students.  But the students were quick learners, and they quickly learned to copy paste their photos and descriptions into Powerpoint slides. We ended the week with students presenting PowerPoint presentations to one another that documented the entire process. Students thrived as they had the opportunity to share the many strengths of their communities.