The young women and girls from the Tunaweza Portraits Project (aka M’Shujarts) come together to support each other and collaborate on creative activities. A few weeks ago they painted this house for some extra income. It’s great to see some of the skill sets learned during Tunaweza transferring into viable income-earning opportunities. Here they are with one of their mentors, Feza.
If you aren’t familiar with M’Shujarts: it’s a Swahili and English mixed word, the name the girls have given themselves after working with us on the Courage in Congo and Tunaweza Portraits Projects. The ‘M” stands for ‘mwanamke’ (women), ‘mwanume’ (men), and also ‘movement’ – indicating that this is a movement for women, but that men are also included and encouraged to engage. ‘Shuj'arts’ is a combination of ‘shujaa’ meaning ‘leader’ (as the girls now often call themselves and/or their group) and the ‘arts’.