March is International Women’s Month

Though we have made great strides in Canada – and the work is ongoing – circumstances are not the same for women in many countries around the world. 

Meet Amina Mohamed, Executive Director and Founder of Cameras For Girls, a program created to ensure that African women could capture their own stories and, more importantly, get paid work.

From the Cameras For Girls Website:
“I believe that by giving back we make the world a better place.”

 Amina Mohamed is the founder, executive director, and the lead trainer for the Cameras For Girls program. Having had a successful career in film and television, she was inspired to tell stories of others impacted by injustice.

Having come to Canada in 1972 as a refugee from Uganda, she grew up with a tethered connection to two vastly different countries and cultures that further inspired her world view. 

She founded Cameras For Girls to address the realities of life for girls and women living in poverty. Through the use of photography and the power to tell stories that matter to them, she empowers them to escape violence, poverty, gender inequality, and unemployment.

Amina’s impetus for starting out:

“Having immigrated to Canada from Uganda at the young age of three, I was grateful for the life afforded to me in this new country we called home.

Knowing that girls and women in developing countries are not always afforded the same rights and privileges, I set out to make a difference.

After my first trip back to Uganda in 2007, I knew that I had to do something to change the lives of the girls and women I had met.”

The Cameras For Girls Team persevered through the pandemic:

Our first photography workshop took place in August 2018, our second in June 2019, and then the pandemic happened.

In lieu of the in-person workshops, we continued to train our existing students using online tools, such as Zoom and our purpose-built and private video-training platform. Through this method we also taught 10 females in South Africa through our partnership with Khwela Womxn.

Our 3rd training took place in Uganda in June 2022 with resounding success.

We believe that Cameras For Girls has a fantastic vision, and because it is a Registered Canadian Charity, our Giving Fund holders can use their charitable dollars to empower women in Uganda to lead a brighter future.  Just search for them in the “Give to Charity” section of your account!