In honor of International Day of the Girl, we're spotlighting the stories of girls in Rwanda, as told by them through digital storytelling.  The girls' digital stories are now available online, this one features Agnes and her story of caring for her siblings and starting a small business.  After Agnes' father died, her mother had trouble caring for her and her four siblings.  View her digital story here.

This project was facilitated by Department of Global Health graduate Michaela Leslie-Rule, MPA, MPH.  Michaela recently blogged about the experience on the Firelight Foundation website:

"What would happen if I, and others in my position -- documentary film makers and scientists -- flipped the script?  What if, instead of telling well-intentioned stories about girls, we provided girls with the tools and training for them to tell their own stories?..

This February Firelight invited me to explore this idea by contracting me to design and implement a participatory video training for Nike Foundation's Grassroots Girls Initiative.  The training took place in Gisenyi, Rwanda.  Six girls from two community-based organizations were trained as digital storytellers... 

I watched their progress in awe.  Six girls, who had never used a computer before, never mind an Ipod Touch, clusted in groups, pointing to the screen.  Each one helping the other to choose the best photos, build their visual story, record their narration, and navigate the editing application...

As of this writing, the girls have presented their stories to District officials, representatives of Nike Girl Hub (in Rwanda), Department For International Development (DFID) and the Novo Foundation. The girls are currently in the process of completing a second round of videos for the Grassroots Girls’ Initiative.

I think it is appropriate on the International Day of the Girl, to reflect upon what we mean when we say, “amplify girls’ stories.” If we intend to create spaces in which girls can claim their agency to speak ‘truth to power’ then we must do more to invert the model of storytelling that privileges the voice of an outsider over the lens of an insider. I can promise you that if we commit to doing this work — the work of shifting power — we will have an opportunity to benefit from tremendous stories told by ferocious storytellers."  Read more...

To view digital stories made by the girls, visit the Firelight Foundation blog.

For more information on International Day of the Girl visit the UN website for the day.

To learn more about Michaela Leslie-Rule visit her website.