The name and age of the young person has been removed to protect their identity. The young person is an asylum seeker who took part in in our Aiming High project for 12 weeks along with 9 other participants and as well as improving their digital and financial skills they took part in a programme of photography to work towards an OCN Qualification.
“I came to the UK back in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time it felt like I was going from one place of fear to another for very different reasons. The country I left was a warzone and the country I came to was in a lock down because of a virus that was quickly spreading.
When I arrived, I was not able to go out and see my new home because everything was closed to protect people. This meant I met no one and didn’t get to know where I lived.
This year has been very different because I got involved with Headliners and did the Aiming High project. Through the project I was supported to learn and be creative with photography as well as learning about online safety, protecting myself and managing my money. I think that my digital skills have improved as I now know what I put on the internet can affect me. I also know how to use my digital skills to improve my chances and my future it has given me knowledge on how I can build a life and a career once I am able to.
The Aiming High Project has made me feel more excited for the future I have and less sad about my past. I feel safe, I have made friends and I have been able to use new creative skills. Hopefully next year I can go to college and study photography. I would like to be a photographer for my career and Headliners has inspired me. I like to take pictures that show real life in its true form. I like to photograph places and people. I like to show shapes and different angles that show a different view of a simple thing.
For me the best bit so far was walking around Newcastle with my group and exploring the city through a camera lens because of how my adventure to the UK started it really wasn’t something I ever thought I would explore. Photography is my new talent and it has given me so much confidence to have so many new skills”