NORMAN — Today at 5 p.m. at the Zarrow Hall Community Room, 701 Elm Ave., nearly a dozen Norman middle school girls will make their debut in the world of art. Armed with hundreds of photos, along with a newfound confidence in themselves and a voice within their community, the girls will provide Norman with a brand new perspective on a issue that affects us all: public health.
This is all possible through an innovative new program called Girl Power PhotoVoice, which stemmed from a collaboration between the Center for Children and Families (CCFI) and the University of Oklahoma’s Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work.
The program brought the girls in for the past several months, provided them each with their own digital camera and gave them the opportunity to document their lives and their communities, one photo at a time.
“The Girl Power PhotoVoice project is an excellent example of how community-based organizations like the Center for Children and Families, Inc. can work with institutions of higher education in supporting shared research and community building goals. Supported by a grant from OU’s School of Medicine-Tulsa, CCFI staff worked hand in hand with OU staff to empower the young people of our community to express themselves with originality and enthusiasm,” said Katie Fitzgerald, executive director of the CCFI.
“The girls walked through their lives, homes and streets behind the lens of a camera and, each week, came together to view their photographs and voice what their photographs told them about their health and their community,” she said.
Along with providing the girls with an opportunity to speak to their community leaders about the issues they saw within their neighborhoods and Norman as a whole, the program taught the girls about effective communication, taking care of themselves and maintaining healthy peer relationships. The girls in the program said that the project provided them with a learning environment within which they could feel safe.
“PhotoVoice provided a place for me to express my feelings in a safe environment with people I trust,” ninth grader Kayleigh Clement said. “It was confidential, so I could tell them personal things so they wouldn’t judge me or tell anybody else.”
Eighth grader Laura Weaver agreed.
“It allows yourself to be yourself and not worry what other people think,” she said.
Ultimately, according to the CCFI staff, it was the girls themselves who helped make the program so successful.
“The 12 girls that ended up being a part of the project did exceptionally well,” said Jessica Hutchinson, senior program specialist for the CCFI. “They rose to the challenge and could very well be leaders in this community someday. They are exceptional. They come from very diverse backgrounds. They come from the same school, but were all raised very differently. This gave them an opportunity to come together to work on a project and form really close friendships and develop opportunities for exploration in things like photography and communication through art.”
For more information on the project, visit www.ccfinorman.org/photovoice.
