By Rachel Schaffer, Director of Health at Elena’s Light
Elena’s Light is a refugee-run, nonprofit in Connecticut whose goal is to help build brighter futures for refugee women and children. We envision a community that respects and celebrates diversity and provides equal opportunities for all. We offer ESL classes, health classes, donation drives, vaccination clinics, legal advocacy support, and more.
Back in February 2022, Elena’s Light reached out to faculty at Wesleyan University with the idea of creating a Photovoice project involving refugee middle-school students in New Haven, Connecticut. What motivated us to collaborate with the university on this project was the concept of bringing young minds together to learn more about refugee youth. We were eager to have bright, enthusiastic college students paired with our refugee youth to work together during this process. You would be hard-pressed to find a population more eager to learn than college students, and I knew the energy of these two groups would match. My work at Elena’s Light has also led me to help on a few quantitative research projects, so naturally I was curious about what a qualitative method like Photovoice would tell us about the refugee youth experience.
In total, 12 children between the ages 9 and 15 participated in this project. They were all Afghan refugees who lived locally in New Haven. The group comprised 7 girls and 5 boys. The project ran until our May celebration, and we were happy to say that all of our participants completed the program to the end.
Featured below are a couple of examples of the more than 95 photos collected over the course of the project. The children’s photos helped me see into the hearts of the refugees, offering a window into their lives—including how they spend their time, and what their hobbies are. Knowing their interests now as I do helps with the planning of future activities. In addition, having the opportunity to get a glimpse of our families through a more personal and emotional lens made it feel like I was part of their community. These are outcomes I never would have had, had we not done the Photovoice project.
Learn more about our work at https://www.elenaslight.org/ You can also email us at info@elenaslight.com
(10 year old Afghan girl)
(12 year old Afghan girl)