‘Our Images, Our Voices’ -A True Story!

“If I can follow my dreams, so can other children like me” says Firoza Khatun. Firoza dreams of being a big time photographer. But it wasn't always as easy to have such dreams. Because she hailed from a poor family, she had to work as a child domestic worker in order to support her family. She would go to school in the morning and then work in the afternoon for a small sum of Rs 350 per month. It was not easy juggling both school and work and it was not fair to the young girl.

A ray of hope was visible to her in 2006 when she went to a drop-in center of Save the Children in her neighbourhood  Here, she learnt about her rights and started to believe in myself. Save the Children had organised a photography workshop called ‘Eye to Eye’ and she was selected for a training course. Here she developed her love for the camera and later joined an advanced course in photography.

October 20, 2011 was a special day in her life. Her first exhibition titled, ‘Our Images, Our Voices’ was opened in Kolkata. Now, Firoza wants to complete her studies and pursue a career in photography. She no longer works as a domestic help. There are many such Firoza’s in our country working as child labourers at an age when they should be studying and building a future for themselves.