Somero e.V. is a winner of the Social
Committment Award of the Alumni Society
of the Friedrich- Ebert-Stiftung e.V.

The Somero Center

In May 2010, the Somero Center was opened in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. The center serves as a meeting point for the scholarship holders and other young people from the district. It is a save place of learning, social exchange and cultural activities. Several activities and services are offered:

• activities for girls to promote their self-confidence and self-responsibility;
• workshops to provide medical education e.g. about HIV/Aids;
• non-formal education e.g. for young mothers who could not finish their education;
• painting and photography courses with local artists;
• coaching and training for examination preparation;
• holiday activities.

The center serves as a meeting point for all Somero stakeholders. Thus it facilitates the integration of the scholarship holders' social community into Somero’s work. The social worker has an office at the center.

The photo project was one of the projects that took place at the Somero Center:

What does my life look like? That was the question which our scholarship holders posed themselves during a three day photo project in autumn 2010. Supported by a professional photographer, they learned the fundamentals of photography and explored how a camera is used. They also trained their creative writing skills. Later they were asked to capture their everyday life in pictures and words. Each of the ten girls has vivid and exciting stories to tell. For some of them it was the first opportunity to take their own pictures and tell the story of their lives.

Later on, the three best photos were rewarded and displayed in the Somero Center. The pictures give a very special impression of the scholarship holders’ everyday life, their challenges and problems as well as their courage and dreams.

Furthermore, the young girls chose some of their pictures to be published in the Somero calendar “Living and Learning in Uganda 2011” which could be purchased from Somero at the end of the year 2010. Thus they had the chance to communicate their own impressions of their country and their life.