Vision Not Victim

In early 2013, the Vision Not Victim Project began in eastern Congo. We invited groups of girls to come together, to explore their possibilities and cultivate essential skills through creative activities and discussions. With the help of mentors, each girl developed a vision for herself and a strategic plan for achieving her ambitions. She then designed and directed a photo shoot, posing as her future self, having achieved her goal. We later shared the photographs with members of the local community. This spurred discussions about how parents and leaders can support the realization of these visions, and create safe and supportive environments that allow girls to pursue their potential. Building on the learning and positive impacts from this pilot, the IRC is scaling up to new countries to reach more girls and their communities through this girl-driven process. Vision Not Victim is most effective and impactful where IRC has established relationships and programming, which enables continued support to the girls and their communities after the conclusion of this project. As IRC continues to work with girls in various contexts and countries, the guidance for this project will be finalized and shared widely as an adaptable project that can be implemented in full, or customized as necessary.