Mariajose Silva-Vargas

These photographs were taken as part of my research in development economics. Together, they portray women and girls connected by a shared thread: each is involved in a programme aimed at improving the world around them. The series spans different contexts, from a girl in Finland participating in a project that supports the integration of children with immigrant backgrounds in schools, to women involved in refugee integration efforts in Uganda, either undergoing a kitchen skills test to access employment or working in a hair salon, where I captured a moment of friendship and solidarity in a hug between a refugee worker and the Ugandan owner. It also includes a female mechanics instructor in Senegal, teaching women to enter traditionally male-dominated professions to expand their economic opportunities, and a girl in France taking part in a climate mitigation programme that uses school gardens to reconnect children with nature. For me, these women embody the future I hope for.