Lenses of hope: Alum empowers marginalized youth through photography
Andrea Rom谩n Alfaro 鈥�12, a scholar and activist who combines research with community work and advocacy, received
the Social Actions Initiative Award from the Sociologists for Women in Society. The
award recognizes and supports social activism around the world. A Peruvian native
who works with marginalized communities, Rom谩n Alfaro used the award grant to support
a children鈥檚 photo club in Puerto Nuevo, one of Peru鈥檚 oldest shanty towns largely
made up of poor migrants.
The photo club is part of a community center led by young people ages 17 to 25 that
Rom谩n Alfaro established in 2022 as part of her graduate field work. The club evolved
from a series of workshops supported by other grants, including one from Peru鈥檚 Ministry
of Culture and two from the University of Toronto, where she is a Ph.D. candidate
in sociology.
In the workshops with local Peruvian photographers, children ages 7 to 14 used digital
cameras and learned basic photography skills, such as angles and lighting, and focused
on five themes: fashion, talent, iconic places in the community, everyday life, and
families. The workshops culminated in a large photo exhibit outside the community
center.
鈥淭he exhibit had a very empowering effect,鈥� Rom谩n Alfaro says. 鈥淚t helped the kids
make sense of themselves and their neighborhood, where they also saw themselves as
a community of families and values.鈥�
Rom谩n Alfaro, a sociology and government double major, came to Skidmore as a Davis
United World College Scholar. Although she grew up in a safe, middle-class neighborhood,
she wanted to understand the violence and marginalization of the surrounding districts
and how children especially perceive and survive their circumstances. She was also
drawn to finding ways to address the stigma that these youths were considered 鈥渢hrowaways鈥�
by wealthier communities.
The idea of a photo club goes back to Rom谩n Alfaro鈥檚 time at Skidmore, when she attended
a seminar presented by documentary photographer and filmmaker Zana Briski, who founded the nonprofit Kids with Cameras in Calcutta's red-light district to
empower marginalized children through photography.
鈥淭he seminar had an impact on me, and I knew that I wanted replicate a similar program at some point in my community,鈥� she says.
