Video 1: Nhora: From Colombia to Queens
In 2022, Equity for Children, The StoryCenter, and Voces Latinas partnered to produce a video project that delves into the challenges faced by immigrant Latinx women and their children in New York City. This Latinx community experiences disadvantages that are usually depersonalized and invisible, from unequal access to education and mental health services to gender-based violence and discrimination.
Building a multidisciplinary team and using video storytelling techniques, the three organizations worked with a group of Latinx women to create videos of two or three minute length that feature personal stories that also identify barriers to their education, growth, and empowerment. The videos provided a platform for these courageous women to air their voices, foster creativity, and generate intimate connections between participants and the facilitators.
The first video features Nhora, an immigrant from Colombia who now resides in Queens, NY. Despite being born with epilepsy and experiencing speech difficulties, she is cherished within her community for her efforts to empower immigrants through workforce development programs. See video here.
The stories behind the statistics are rarely, if ever, told. There are only a few places to hear about these experiences from the people living in such conditions, and even fewer chances that their stories will reach decision-makers and public leaders in order to improve social cohesion. This research has provided a nuanced view of the women and their stories behind these numbers.
