Seeing with our own eyes: Youth in Mathare, Kenya use photovoice to examine individual and community strengths
Qualitative Social Work: Research and Practice
Published online on March 19, 2014
Abstract
In this study, youth residents of the Mathare community of Nairobi, Kenya documented individual and community strengths using photovoice, a method that is grounded in the principles of community-based participatory research. Research was conducted in collaboration with the Mwelu Foundation, a youth-based participatory photography organization in Mathare. Template analysis was used to code the data, and industriousness, positive identity, community resources, and resilience emerged as the identified individual and community strengths. The project highlighted the value of photovoice for promoting empowerment and highlighting the perspectives of largely invisible populations. Implications of photovoice for social work research and practice are discussed.