Girls in developing
countries live a vastly different life than what we in America are used
to. Now I cannot speak on all these
countries but I am confident that most, if not all, experience some of the
following.
Girls as young as eight
years are heads of household, preparing meals, killing chickens, fetching
water, and carrying their young babies on their backs, see Us & Them. This is all in addition to going to school
for nine hours a day and having to pass their exams in ten different
subjects. Girls sweep, clean dishes, dig
in the garden, and bathe their younger siblings, all for no allowance. Girls kneel when they greet, are silent
around boys, and rarely have the self-esteem and confidence to pursue careers in
math and science, even if their exam marks are top of the class.
To help bridge the
knowledge gap of the above to Americans, Peace Corps Volunteers in various
countries are compiling media to make a video on the girl child. Here in Uganda I am apart of this project and
to best capture the girl child in her element, I have been working with my
Supervisor’s granddaughter, Aber, pronounced “A-Bay”.
Aber starred in this
project by sharing with us her daily routine, what she likes to do for fun,
traditional games, her schooling and studies, what she wears, and other tidbits
of information she wanted to share. Courtesy
of a flip cam and Mikael’s boyfriend, Jimmy, we were able to get all this
information in local language. We were
also able to capture Aber playing with her sisters, climbing trees, sweeping,
and doing her every day activities. It
was invigorating to see Aber make the best use of her environment to pass the
hours rather than sitting in front of a television set. It was somehow depressing to see her room… A
small concrete block with a foam mattress on the floor that was falling to
pieces, no mosquito net, and a rope that serves as her wardrobe. This is her life and this is what she has
come to love. She knows nothing
different and she is appreciative of all she has.
This is what we wanted to
share and this is what we hope our viewers gain.
Some of Aber's younger sisters picking greens for dinner
Her wardrobe and bed in the background
Mikael and I with our rockstar girl!
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