(ERGO) – Nasteho Omar Ibrahim, a divorced mother of five, has thrown in her cleaning job where the employer treated her badly to become the first woman photographer earning a living in Mogadishu’s Benadir park, snapping pictures of city residents out for recreation.
After being trained in photography and videography at local family centre Guryo-samo in the Somali capital for three months, Nasteho bought a camera using $1,600 gifted by her relatives and set off on her new professional career.
“A lot of people come to tour this park in the evenings and at weekends. Mothers come with their children to this park and take pictures with them, and there are days I make between $30 to $40, just taking pictures,” she said happily.
It is a far cry from the grim work she took on as a cleaner at a local restaurant for six dollars a day after her husband left. She worked from early morning until late evening, suffering verbal abuse and wage cuts for accidentally breaking a plate, or for using too much washing soap.
“I was heavily pregnant with my youngest child towards the end of last year, so there were days I used to reach my work place late in the morning. The owner used to yell at me for coming late despite reporting to work while feeling unwell. It was then that I decided to quit cleaning,” she said.
Nasteho, 27, told Radio Ergo that her mother looks after the children whilst she is out at work, usually for around four hours a day. She charges a dollar for three pictures on normal days, and during festivals she raises the price to a dollar per picture.
She managed to enroll two of her children in a local boarding school in July after saving up the monthly school fees of $30 for the two and is paying the $80 house rent as well.
“I am happy with this job because it is not as gruelling as the cleaning job. After quitting cleaning, I looked for better jobs, but I couldn’t find one. I am grateful to God that I learnt this skill, which is helping me enormously now to provide for my family. I am very satisfied with my photography job!” she declared.
She has not managed yet to buy her own tripod and other equipment so borrows from a colleague when she records wedding videos.
“When women come to take pictures at the park, they look for me as I am the only woman photographer here. My male colleagues respect me though and support me in my job. Sometimes they direct their female clients to me when I don’t have any clients,” she said.
Nasteho took the photo and video skills training among a group of 60 women, others of whom may be inspired by her lead.
