Nigeria: Capturing hope in the face of despair
Life through the eyes of the youth in Nigeria’s Prison Waterfront
What happens when you give the residents of an informal settlement a chance to tell their own story through their own eyes? You get a better understanding of how they see themselves. This is exactly what we did in Prison Waterfront, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Ruth Forsher
"I was very sad when I saw that place so I decided to take a picture of that place (our shanty town). So I could show the world what it really looks like to stay there. This place doesn't really look nice." - Ethel MartinsCC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Ethel Martins
"A young child having fun with his pet" - Ndukwe GabrielCC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Ndukwe Gabriel
The community lives with limited access to public services such as sewage systems and clean drinking water. This in turn has affected natural waterways which are plagued with human waste and trash.CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Endurance Adolphus
Despite living in difficult conditions, there are moments of happiness, love, and laughter.CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Gladys Ikura A Braide
CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Gift Ataiyong Nathaniel
The waterways in Port Harcourt, which would normally offer a solution to the lack of public services, are plagued with trash, human waste, and oil slick from illegally tapped pipelines.CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Bernice Abraham
"This is the road we cross whenever we go to get water, and it shows how dirty the environment looks like." - Gift Ataiyong NathanielCC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Gift Ataiyong Nathaniel
CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Ethel Martins
Chronic poverty, lack of education, and the threat of armed violence are just some of the dangers that the community of Prison Waterfront in Port Harcourt have to face every day.CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Thywill Belema
CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Daniel Nwaogu
Chronic poverty, lack of education, and the threat of armed violence are just some of the dangers that the community of Prison Waterfront in Port Harcourt have to face every day.
At the same time, they live with little or no access to public services such as sewage systems and clean drinking water. The nearby waterways, which would normally offer a solution to the lack of public services, are plagued with trash, human waste, and oil slick from illegally tapped pipelines.
From an external standpoint, life in Prison Waterfront appears to be extremely difficult. But there are moments of happiness, love, laughter, and good friendship that are not always apparent. This is why we asked the residents in the community to share their stories with us. We gave two dozen disposable cameras to young people with a hope of getting a glimpse into their daily lives.
