Home Alone - Photography Gives Strength and Comfort to Nicaraguan Children Left Behind

According to this article from Media Magic Digest,an online magazine for children and youth from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), CrozzCom, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Spain, started working in Nicaragua with children from economically poor circumstances who have feelings of loneliness and isolation because they must take on sibling care and domestic responsibilities at home in the absence of parents. The project's central approach is encouraging and enabling children to share their knowledge and ideas, both about their own situation and about how to support other children in taking part in the issues that affect them.



Working within the Home Alone project, CrozzCom started with an initial photography workshop in 2005. 14 girls and 18 boys were given disposable cameras. As stated in the article, "[b]y taking photographs, the participants gained an enhanced sense of self, becoming the protagonists both behind and in front of the camera... 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."


The result reported here is increased empowerment due to the children's realisation of the importance of their contribution to the family. In addition, the children use the resulting albums as a source of strength when home alone.


The CrozzCom objectives, as stated at tupatroncinio.com,
a website linking sponsors and projects, include:

• Raising awareness of the lives of this group of children based on their own experiences and perspectives;
• Strengthening the capacity of the children to create both public and private dialogue directly or indirectly through those who are in contact with governmental and non-governmental organisation that have the obligation or responsibility for the rights of children; and
• Promoting and stimulating interventions that respond to the needs expressed by the children.

According to CrozzCom, the children became sensitised to each other's situations and participated in a further project photographing and interviewing other children in their neighbourhoods. In conclusion, the article states that "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 analyse 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."