Life through a lens - Marie Stopes Papua New Guinea empowering young people through its PhotoVoice project

Through the PhotoVoice Project, Marie Stopes Papua New Guinea (MS PNG) is offering a new and exciting way to increase awareness of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) issues amongst young people as well as helping to empower them to make positive choices. PhotoVoice PNG is part of a wider PhotoVoice advocacy initiative been undertaken by Marie Stopes International in a number of countries around the world.

Involving seven churches in PNG, including the Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Seventh Day Adventist, United, Lutheran and Salvation Army churches, PhotoVoice PNG has captured the imagination of the young people who were involved. All were aged between 15-24 and at the start of the programme they were briefed on SRH before being trained on the use of disposable cameras. They then went out into their communities to record images. The resulting photos, which are being exhibited this month in the National Parliament, reveal the humorous, real, positive and yet at sometimes, shocking visual images that exist in PNG today.

MS PNG’s Communication and Social Marketing Manager Elizabeth Sowei explains, “PhotoVoice is an avenue through which young people highlight issues that affect them and their communities. The exhibition is aimed at highlighting to the leaders of this country, both at the national and community level, the issues of concern as seen through the eyes of our youth.

“It is MS PNG’s hope that the leaders, through the exhibition, will be able to see and understand the issues affecting their communities and hopefully address some of them through their community programs,” Mrs. Sowei added.

The photos taken focused on the lives of the young people, their world and their issues. They capture the beliefs, fears, struggles and celebrations in PNG life today. Most importantly, they also promoted dialogue amongst the young people and church leaders which have resulted in the young people developing a series of positive project ideas to address the key identified issues. These issues include drugs and alcohol, teenage pregnancy, sexual abuse, boredom, condom and health service accessibility, STIs and HIV/AIDS.

PhotoVoice is a tremendous example of a number of sectors in the community working together to achieve positive change.

More about MSI’s programme in Papua New Guinea