NIGER / PHOTO WORKSHOP

For most Nigerien families who live on less than (USD) $1.25 per day, having a camera is an unthinkable luxury. UNICEF workshops recently gave children the chance to not only learn a new skill, but to see their world through fresh eyes. Thursday 16 June is the Day of the African Child. UNICEF

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:39
• Production Date: 15 June 2011
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND - UNICEF
• Subject Topical: CULTURE; FINE ARTS; LITERATURE; MUSIC
• Geographic Subject: NIGER
• MAMS Id: U110615h

Description

STORY: NIGER / PHOTO WORKSHOP
TRT: 1.39
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: FRENCH/NATS

DATELINE: MAY 2011, NIAMEY, NIGER

Shotlist

1. Various shots, young people at photo workshop
2. Various shot, young people head out to take photos
3. SOUNDBITE (French) Rachida Aboukar, 16 years old:
“I was not expecting to see what I saw today. I was very saddened by the sight of these children sleeping in the streets and I think it is not fair that a child should sleep on the streets when they have parents. There are many women and boys who are beggars in Niamey and I had no idea that there situation was this bad.”
4. Various shots, young people taking photos and interviewing street people
5. SOUNDBITE (French) Romarick Onadja, 17 years old:
“I used to complain because of the modest life that we live but when I became acquainted with some of the living conditions of children on the streets of Niamey, I feel very rich as opposed to them. You find six to eight people living in the same mud-house. That is what really affected me the most.”
6. Med shot, slide show of pictures
7. Med sot, photographers receiving certificates
8. Wide shot, participants photo-op

Storyline

For most Nigerien families, who live on less than a USD1.25 a day, having a camera is an unthinkable luxury.

UNICEF workshops give children the chance to not only learn a new skill, but captures the world through their eyes.

One of UNICEF’s most experienced photographers, Giacomo Pirozzi, gave twenty young people cameras and taught them how to use them.

The children were then sent out onto the streets of the capital Niamey to investigate through photography some of the challenges their countrymen and women face. And to encourage them to stand up for their basic rights.

SOUNDBITE (French) Rachida Aboukar, 16 years old:
“I was not expecting to see what I saw today. I was very saddened by the sight of these children sleeping in the streets and I think it is not fair that a child should sleep on the streets when they have parents. There are many women and boys who are beggars in Niamey and I had no idea that there situation was this bad.”

Children were given a range of issues to document, from early marriage, malnutrition and child labor. More than 40 per cent of children under the age of 14 work as beggars, street vendors, and domestic servants.

SOUNDBITE (French) Romarick Onadja, 17 years old:
“I used to complain because of the modest life that we live but when I became acquainted with some of the living conditions of children on the streets of Niamey, I feel very rich as opposed to them. You find six to eight people living in the same mud-house. That is what really affected me the most.”

The children will choose the best photos which will be the highlight of a special exhibition on street children as part of activities marking the Day of the African Child.