Cameras For Girls: Empowering African Women Through The Art of Photography

Our Mission

Cameras For Girls, a Canadian registered charity, pursues Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality in Africa using photography as our catalyst. We provide women who face gender-based barriers to employment with a camera to keep and a 4-phase photography, storytelling, and business-skills curriculum to support their goals of becoming paid journalists and photographers in male-dominated spaces.

Our Vision

At Cameras For Girls, we envision a future where every girl and woman, regardless of background, has the tools and opportunities to explore her creativity through photography. Our unwavering commitment to gender equality is ingrained in our core, propelling us towards a world where empowerment isn't just a mission—it's the transformative force that dismantles barriers, unlocks potential, and fosters a society where equal rights and opportunities are the bedrock of progress. We believe that by empowering young women with the art of photography, we are catalyzing a ripple effect that transcends poverty and paves the way for a more inclusive and just world.

Why We Give Our Students Cameras to Keep?

We give our students cameras to keep to give them a head start on their professional journey. From financial barriers to gender and cultural biases, many girls cannot afford a camera, a tool often associated with gender bias in the male-dominated media space. By providing cameras, we break down these barriers and empower girls to pursue their dreams without limitations.

How Our Program Works:

Phase 1: Intensive 4-Day Workshop

• Location: Uganda and/or Tanzania
• Duration: 4 days
• Highlights: Each participant receives a camera (valued at CAD 600) and learns to tell stories through photography. The workshop culminates with a field practice session in collaboration with a local NGO, which provides students with their first published piece for their portfolio and valuable marketing content for the NGO.

Phase 2: Ongoing Training

• Format: Weekly Zoom sessions + Access to Our Online Training Platform.
• Trainer: Amina Mohamed, Lead Trainer + Guest trainers from our community of photographers and storytellers.
• Student Requirements: Biweekly photo practice + monthly assignments with constant feedback for improvement in their photography and storytelling skills.

Phase 3: Career Development

• Focus: Building resumes and LinkedIn profiles and teaching them vital business skills to help them get paid work in media.
• Skills: Business plan creation, budgeting, and other essential business skills
• Result: We prepare our students with fully optimized LinkedIn profiles while also teaching them the power of networking.

Phase 4: Mentorship Program

• Duration: 6 months
• Goal: Provide guidance and support to those still needing employment through one-on-one mentorship with volunteer mentors from Africa and Canada.

About Amina Mohamed: Amina Mohamed, founder and executive director of Cameras For Girls, and her family came to Canada as refugees from Uganda at the age of three, when they faced exile by then-president Idi Amin. Inspired by the stories of those affected by injustice, she founded this organization to empower young women in Africa through photography, helping them escape gender-based violence and poverty while promoting gender equality.

Our Achievements:

• We have successfully trained 64 women in Uganda, 25 women in Tanzania, and 10 women in South Africa between the ages of 19 and 29, of whom over 80% are now working as journalists, photojournalists, photographers, or in communications.
• We have plans to expand across Africa, where the need is greatest, including Kenya, in 2025.

Your donations enable us to:

• Purchase Canon G1x cameras for each of our students. We chose these cameras because they can train the girls in photography and videography, thereby making them more skilled and easier to employ.
• Fund our 4-day intensive workshops in Uganda and Tanzania.
• Expand our programs to other African countries such as Kenya (2025), Ghana (2026), South Africa (2027), and Nigeria (2028).

Join Us in Making a Difference:

Your support will help us continue changing the lives of our young women, providing them with the skills and opportunities they need to succeed in the media industries across Africa.