Poverty: Our Voices, Our Views
A PhotoVoice project by
North End Winnipeg Women
Presented by
Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence and the
North End Women’s Centre
Gina 2005
Women spend so much money on their hair and makeup and to be
skinny. And they don’t change inside.
Gina 2005
You know in my country, Chile, we thought Canada was
paradise – we would have everything. Never in my
imagination did I think we have poor people in Canada. I
came to Canada and I changed my mind, because it was
so difficult for me.
Gina 2005
For me I see the picture, this is the big company - society.
But, what I see here is some light. We have to fight for our
way. Why do we have to be poor?
Gina 2005
I see more poor people here than I see in my country -a poor country.
Gina 2005
We never imagined it with our grandparents; to be in a nursing home.
All the time – at home all together – that is so precious. We are very
proud of them.
And here in Canada, I don’t know.
“Exposed Broken Old Tree”
Lisa Aymont-Hunter 2005
I know money isn’t the most
important thing, but I know it
is the root cause for a lot of
dis-ease, dis-harmony, and
social problems.
I’m not a mathematician, but
come on! Don’t wait until we
are sick, and scared and
alone.
“Speaking Out for the Missing Women”
Lisa Aymont-Hunter 2005
You can see “Have you seen this girl”. It’s a picture of a beautiful
girl, smiling. And she’s missing. Me as a woman thinking: “Will
there come a time when my picture is up?” I don’t think the rape
and murder of women is about beauty or youth- it’s about power.
Lisa Aymont-Hunter 2005
Some of these homes used to be really beautiful. And I have to think,
“What does it tell us we’re worth?” I think, “How does an organism
thrive, when its environment is toxic”?
Lisa Aymont-Hunter 2005
Coming up the sidewalk is a man pushing his shopping cart with all his
worldly possessions. If we put people before profits, this man would
not have to depend on living in a shopping cart. That says it all to me.
“Women are not Garbage”
Lisa Aymont-Hunter 2005
Another one of our
community women was
murdered and her body was
disposed of in a BFI bin. And
it really touched, hurt, struck
a deep cord in all of us as
women… that she was
thrown away like garbage.
I’ve heard from elders that
red is the colour of spirit, that
the spirits like that colour.
And I can’t help but wonder
how being poor puts us more
at risk for violence.
L.M. Champagne 2005
An attempt at security and
protection. Keeping the bad out
or keeping the bad in? Who is
safe in the cycle of poverty?
L.M. Champagne 2005
No matter what you pile on me, I’m still going to see the light; I’m
going to get through. Our system has a hole running through it with
many people piled on top of it keeping it there.
L.M. Champagne
2005
“Yeah, you can cut me off, but
it doesn’t matter, because I am
still growing, and I am still
healthy, and no matter where
you cut me off I’m going to
keep growing”. And so many
women in my community
remind me of this, because
they keep going and growing
and they get cut off that
blatantly.
L.M. Champagne 2005
There is no place for a garden, so this is their flower garden. I think they
are inside and this is how they feel…I look fine on the outside, but I’m
wilting on the inside because there is no light coming through. I need
light to grow inside and outside but I cannot afford a place with windows.
L.M. Champagne 2005
The stronger the better, you get the first pick…Here the big birds fly high,
have more strength because they did not have to fight for food. You
should not have to be stronger or better to get something to eat or fly high.
Shosana Funk 2005
To me this picture
represents stereotyping. It
looks like you’re standing
on the outside looking in,
and yeah, it does look
daunting. But just looking
in, and making judgments,
is just reinforcing these
negative stereotypes. If you
actually went in, you’d see
that sure it might be scary
sometimes, just like it is
everywhere. Underneath it
all we’re all just regular
people.
Shosana Funk 2005
Behind the glass you can sort of see the mannequin, the idea of
the “real woman”. And then you see the reality- the real people at
the bus stop, who can’t afford to shop there. It’s like they’re
mocking us.
Shosana Funk 2005
She embodies the things that we’re fighting against and working towards.
Her hands are so small and frail looking. But she is strong and can get
through anything; she is still full of life. This could be any woman.
Shosana Funk 2005
He is an able, healthy strong
man, and he’s having trouble
waking. But, the majority of
people -the young, the elderly,
the disabled, the parents with
young children, the poor who
can’t afford boots – are not
going to be able to make it
through without falling. I think
this picture shows where the
priorities of the city really are.
Shosana Funk 2005
This is the world, full of beauty and diversity- plants, animals
and people. The sun is shining down reminding us that things
will be ok. We can make changes, but we have to work together.
Suzanne McLeod-Chartrand 2005
You can’t get in, you can’t get out. That’s where we’re at with
poverty right now – you can’t get in, you can’t get out; you’re stuck.
Now, if they would take this gate down, it probably would mean a lot
more. And take the “closed” sign for “open”.
Suzanne McLeod-Chartrand
“If These Stairs Could Talk What Nightmares would they Share?” 2005
Because if these stairs could talk, how much pain would they be able to
tell us they’ve endured? But when you re-do something, it’s just hidden,
it’s not getting to the source of the problem – poverty. That’s the issue.
Suzanne McLeod-Chartrand 2005
I hope that we would all, as women, do something positive so that the
children will rise up to be strong eagles. Right now, she’s a bald eagle, but
she will have feathers. Yep, she’s a little bald eagle, but one day she will be
an eagle and she will fly and carry on the work that I’ve started.
Suzanne McLeod-Chartrand 2005
There are no brownie points for being poor.
We must change the fact that 60% of Aboriginal women are living in
poverty. It has to. The monster of poverty has knocked at my door and I
say “Bring it on,” because I am educated and my friends are with me.
Suzanne McLeod-Chartrand 2005
I’m thinking, as women, “Do we feel alive? Do we feel empowered?” No.
So, we need to look at the root problems. The tree grows because the
roots are healthy. If you’re not healthy, you won’t feel alive; you won’t feel
empowered. You’ll feel disgraced and you’ll feel hopeless.
Valerie Charles 2005
I feel like the system keeps you there.
I’d like to be one of those people considering all of the things that I’ve been
through that I tend to want to carry the world on my shoulders. I want
everybody to live in peace and harmony. I don’t want anybody to go
through anymore pain and suffering because I went through it. Money and
greed is not going to feed my future generation.
Valerie Charles 2005
Many people have to resort to live in run-down hotels because landlords
look down on certain individuals. Untrustworthy – because of evictions,
or the way they dress, or unemployment. So, we’re discriminated against
in that way.
Valerie Charles 2005
There aren’t really many things for our youth to do out there, because
obviously things come with money and some of us can’t provide. It’s
too bad that there’s nowhere for them to go.
Valerie Charles 2005
It just looks lonely,
abandoned. There’s nothing
there. It’s just like a nuclear
war had happened and
everything was wiped out.
And for me it seems that’s
what people are going
through. We’re slowly dying
off in the streets because of
alcohol and abuse,
discrimination – there’s so
many different things.
Valerie Charles 2005
It was ironic because this is a path. It shows a sense of
loneliness, nowhere to go and obviously no support. To me, it
was a very lonely place of unworthiness.