Amina Mohamed was born in England but spent the first three years of her life in Uganda. In 1972, Idi Amin, the then Ugandan president, ordered the expulsion of the Indian minority from the country. Mohamed, her parents and older sister came to Canada as refugees in November 1972.

She returned to Uganda for the first time in 2007. She wanted to see her roots. At the time, she was working in film and television and had the opportunity to shoot a documentary. After 10 days, she left shook by the poverty and incensed by the plight of women.

“We grow up in this country where anything you want to be you can be, regardless of your gender, race or anything,” she says. “There, girls are told they don’t matter.” They’re married shortly after they hit puberty, mothers by the time they’re in their 20s. “Their dreams for an education are not always realized because they’re born girls. I couldn’t reconcile it.”

Phase 2 is all online. “We have weekly meetings on Zoom where I’m teaching some aspect of photography or storytelling, or even mindset or empowerment because they don’t get these messages,” says Mohamed. They spend a second hour reviewing photos or building their LinkedIn profile. “That’s a big thing because if they can’t get seen, how can they get hired.”
 

Phase 3 is about business skills: building a resume, a LinkedIn profile, a business plan. The girls learn how to save the money they’re making.
 

The final phase, a six- to 12-month mentorship program, is optional. Mentors from diverse backgrounds – including photography, business and entrepreneurship – meet virtually with their matched participant on a regular basis. “It’s about showing them the way and then letting them go forward with the tools that we give them,” says Mohamed.
 

The girls who participate in the program are journalism or mass communication students or graduates unable to find work either because they lack the skills or don’t own a camera. Since Cameras for Girls launched four years ago, 47 girls have gone through the program in Uganda. Of those, 65 per cent now have full-time paid work as journalists, photojournalists, photographers or communications professionals. Mohamed also started the program in South Africa, training 10 girls there so far. Another 85 girls across Africa have free access to phases 2, 3 and 4 of the program. “It starts with one skill, but there’s so many branches that they can venture into,” says Mohamed. “I can give the girls the tools, but then I tell them the world is your oyster. Let’s figure out what you need and develop that and then go forth.”

Mohamed’s students are grateful for their teacher’s support.

“I’ve heard that I’ve instilled confidence in them, that I’ve instilled a sense of belonging, that I’ve been able to push them out of their comfort zone, that I’ve been able to show them how to succeed,” says Mohamed. “That I’ve become Mom to them.”
 

By helping so many girls launch careers of their own, Mohamed may one day mentor herself out a job. That would be fine with her.
 

“I want to see that what we’re doing made a difference for gender equality and female empowerment, and females are actually given better roles in society than they already are,” she says. “Will I see it in my lifetime? Who knows. At least we’re talking about it.”