The Truth About Who Crosses the Finish Line at Cameras For Girls

At the start of every new cohort, I see possibility.

A new group of young women stands before me, cameras in hand, ready to step into the world of media, a space that has historically excluded them. I picture them months later: confident, skilled, and telling stories that matter to them and their communities.

But not every student crosses that finish line. And while our successes far outnumber our departures, each one we lose stays with me. As a founder, I want to make our donors and partners proud. I want to tell you that 100% of our students graduate. But that wouldn’t be honest, and it would erase the very real struggles they face.

Our average completion rate is 75–80% per cohort, and of those who graduate, around 80% go on to secure paid work in media or related fields. That’s extraordinary when you consider the hurdles they overcome. But it also means that for some, the journey pauses before the end.

Sheilla Clara, one of our Cameras For Girls trainers with Mevin Linnet at the March 2025 training in Uganda

The Weight of Their Struggles

The reasons our students leave are never simple. They are layered with personal sacrifice, cultural pressures, and systemic barriers:

Economic Pressures

Many of our students are the backbone of their families. When rent is due, a sibling’s school fees are unpaid, or food is short, their role as provider can outweigh their role as student. A missed assignment doesn’t signal a lack of interest; it often means they were at work all day, just to keep the lights on.

Cultural Expectations

In many households, a young woman’s future is pre-decided: marry young, run the home, and place family above personal ambition. For some, pursuing a media career is seen as frivolous, even defiant. That disapproval can be relentless, and in some cases, final.

Access and Infrastructure

We mitigate as much as we can. We provide cameras, cover training costs, offer online materials, adapt assignments when internet access is shaky, and check in regularly. But we can’t fix everything. We can’t pave dangerous roads to the nearest safe internet café. We can’t prevent blackouts mid-assignment. And while we’d love to provide transport stipends or fund high-speed internet for every student, our financial thresholds don’t allow us to solve every problem.

Life’s Curveballs

Unexpected illness, family emergencies, or political instability can pull a student away with no warning. Sometimes, walking away is the only way to protect themselves or their loved ones.

The Moment I Had to Take a Camera Back

The first time I had to reclaim a camera, I didn’t understand why the student had disappeared. She attended no classes, had no assignments to submit, and had no responses to my countless emails and WhatsApp messages. Months later, she told me her father had forbidden her to continue. She had wanted to fight for her place, but by the time she reached out, she felt it was too late. Holding that camera, I felt the weight of her absence more than the equipment itself. It wasn’t just a tool we were reclaiming; it was a dream interrupted.

If a student must step away, it’s never the end of her journey with us. Because cameras are a significant investment, we may reallocate them to another girl in need. However, she still has access to our online learning hub, mental health support, and the opportunity to rejoin when life allows.

We’ve seen students return years later, still holding onto the skills and confidence they gained, ready to pick up where they left off.

Why Our Program Isn’t for Everyone

The truth is, our program isn’t the solution for every young woman. Some face pressures so overwhelming that a year-long training commitment is simply not possible, no matter how much they want it. At the same time, reducing our training is not the solution, as most of these young women come from theoretical backgrounds, leaving them unskilled for the job market. Others discover along the way that media work is not the right fit for them, and that’s a valid outcome too.

But for the ones who choose to fight for their place, despite economic hardship, cultural pushback, and infrastructure failures, this program is life-changing. They not only graduate, but they also go on to work in the media, telling stories that matter and inspiring others, especially young girls and women in their communities to believe that they can too.

The Honest Definition of Success

Success isn’t only about certificates or job offers—it’s about courage. The courage to start when the odds are stacked against you. The courage to continue when it would be easier to walk away. And the courage to return, even after stepping aside.

Our graduates prove this every day. And even for those who don’t make it to the end, the spark we see at the start never really goes out; it waits, ready for the moment when they can come back and try again.