Photovoice in M&E activities

RiH uses innovative participatory methods in their M&E activities. Photovoice, through visual storytelling, provides us with the opportunity to capture experiences, changes and impact brought about by programs.
 
The end of 2019 concluded the implementation of the ‘La League’ program, implemented by Plan International Netherlands, in collaboration with the Johan Cruyff Foundation and the Women Win initiative. The pilot program was implemented in the Boaco and Chinandega departments of Nicaragua and took a ‘sports for development’ approach by using football to contribute to the empowerment of adolescent girls and young women.
 
ResultsinHealth was responsible for the final evaluation and used Photovoice to assess the effects of the intervention as experienced by the girls that participated in the program. Photovoice was chosen to meaningfully involve the girls in the evaluation process, giving them the opportunity to express themselves and promote critical dialogue, providing a chance to empower them further.
 
Girls – aged 15-19 – attended a Photovoice workshop to collectively reflect on their experiences since joining the La League Project through pictures. They discussed the changes that happened within themselves and changes they observed in their families and communities. The method helped reveal changes that occurred in existing social and gender norms, such as gender roles, perceptions of girls, and issues of gender inequality.

“Society told us that only women could do house chores, but now we realize that men can do them too. A real man for me is someone who is not ashamed of doing these jobs because he feels confident enough and is not bothered by what others may think. It's been the same in my house with my brother and my dad; […] they used to think for a long time that only women could do house chores. Now they've learnt things that have changed their minds. If in a given moment my mom, sister or I are busy they do the chores because now they can see we are equal”.

More information about the project and RiH’s approach to participatory M&E can be found on our website. 
 
#photovoice #evaluation #participatory #girlempowerment #sportsfordevelopment #planinternationalnetherlands #johancruyfffoundation #womenwin