Have you ever wondered what children and young people see when they look around themselves? Where do they find purpose and joy? What makes them feel a sense of safety and belonging? And how can we improve the world around them by better understanding their complex identities and lived experiences?
The ‘Life Through My Lens’ project sets out to answer these questions and aims to encourage a more culturally aware approach in children’s services to improve the support we offer to children, young people and families.
Race, culture, ethnicity, and faith or belief are a core part of a child’s identity, and it’s important for us to understand how these factors impact on children’s lives to be able to offer the right support and meet their needs.
Evidence from practice safeguarding reviews of children’s services in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland found systemic failures in meeting the needs of children and young people from diverse backgrounds – particularly in the case of children who are of African, Asian, or Caribbean heritage. Culture and faith also play a significant role in shaping children and young people’s lives and personal experiences but are often overlooked in professional assessments when working with families.
As a Centre which aims to identify, understand, and tackle the structural inequalities which limit the opportunities of children and young people of African, Asian, and Caribbean heritage, Barnardo’s SEEN developed the idea for the Life Through My Lens project as a way to better understand what it means to be a child or young person living in Northern Ireland.
For the project, Barnardo’s SEEN gave disposable cameras to 68 children and young people aged two to 25 years old, living in Northern Ireland who have multiple identities based on their race, culture, language, religion, and other socio-economic factors. Some young people identified with belonging to a particular ethnic group, being someone who’s seeking asylum or who’s a refugee; being a young carer; having a special need; or belonging to a particular nationality, religion, or community.
As part of the project, Barnardo’s SEEN also made a short documentary and a photobook with the children, young people and families who were involved to share their experiences and stories. Through interviews, candid footage, and creative storytelling, the documentary highlights the diverse backgrounds, challenges, and triumphs of all the families involved, and is a platform for voices that are often unheard.
As one SEEN Ambassador and project participant, Doreen, explains, it's vital to give children and young people the opportunity to shape how others view and understand them. “For me, this is really important as I have seen how stereotypes and different attitudes toward people from different backgrounds can have a long-term effect on children and young people,” she says.
Sharing some of the children and young people’s stories
Doreen’s experience
“My name is Doreen. I’m 16 years old and I’ve lived in Northern Ireland for my whole life. I’m ¾ Sudanese and ¼ Irish. I live in a town called Ballymena with my mum, dad and my two sisters.
“Family is really important to me. Most of the time I’m with my family, not just my sisters, but cousins, aunts, uncles. My family are fun, we are all alike and they all play an extremely important role in who I am.
“Growing up in a place you are hardly even from is difficult. You don’t look like everyone else, you weren’t raised like them, but you’re expected to ignore it. Act like we are all the same. You’re to pretend that people don’t want more of an answer than ‘Northern Ireland’ when they ask you where you’re from. It used to frustrate me when I was younger ‘cause I knew and felt like I was from here, but I know that others didn’t.”
You’re to pretend that people don’t want more of an answer than ‘Northern Ireland’ when they ask you where you’re from. It used to frustrate me when I was younger ‘cause I knew and felt like I was from here, but I know that others didn’t.
Doreen
“I suppose that affected my image as a kid. I would’ve done anything to swap out my dark curls for pin straight hair in primary school. I remember being represented on TV but never in real life, never at school, never at any clubs – literally nowhere. There was a time where every Black person in Ballymena was related to me. As kids, we were told we could be or do anything, but it’s hard to do that when everyone is white. It’s hard to do that when you don’t see yourself in the world.
“Times have changed now, some of the most successful people look just like me, and it’s hard to believe it makes a difference, but it really does. I’m really thankful for that, not just for me but for everyone.”
Taleen’s experience
“My name is Taleen, and I am 15 years old. I was raised by two loving parents. I am ¾ Sudanese and ¼ Irish. Growing up I didn’t have any friends of colour so it took me a while to find out my own identity. All throughout school, I felt as if I had to work 10 times harder to fight off the racial stereotypes just so I would feel somewhat the same as everyone else.”
All throughout school, I felt as if I had to work 10 times harder to fight off the racial stereotypes just so I would feel somewhat the same as everyone else.
Taleen
“Even now, I would feel this immense pressure to be the best at everything I do but it never felt good enough. Whenever I was around my friends, I felt different but whenever I was around my family that feeling still didn’t go away.
“I thought that maybe when I got older, it would change but it was always somewhat still there. The majority of my family have either lived in Sudan or are fluent in Arabic and I am neither of those things. I have been to Sudan a couple of times and I can speak Arabic quite well but for some reason I still felt different from the rest of my family. So, whenever I went [to Sudan] I still felt different.
“Last summer I got closer with some of my cousins – I started to get to know them more and then slowly I didn’t feel so different anymore. Suddenly that feeling was completely gone. All of this shaped me to be the person I am today.
“I now read more about my culture and find out more things about my religion and now I am more confident to share my religious and cultural beliefs. I still feel as if I don’t fit in in some places, but I have found people who understand what I mean. Family is my safe place.”
Maddie’s experience
“My name is Maddie, I am 17 and I am from Northern Ireland. I have been a young carer since the age of 7 but in all honesty, I have been impacted by my mum’s mental health and addictions since I was a baby. I became more aware of my caring role when my sister came along as most of my days centered around looking after her. If my mum was unable to care for us due to her ongoing health needs, I made sure we had something to eat, and I used to be an expert at changing nappies.
“I feel that, for a long time, the appropriate services involved did not help in ensuring I attended school or even with reducing the caring I had to do. I missed out on experiences with my friends and, of course, my education.
“They would visit occasionally to monitor the situation, but I felt it was more to tick a box rather than to listen to how I was feeling or put in supports that would mean as a child I did not have to take on responsibilities that even an adult would struggle with.
“I think all professionals in health and social care need to be aware of what a young carer is and ensure that the correct supports are put in place.
“I was never asked how I felt or indeed what support I thought might help me or my mum, yet I was the one who was doing all the caring.”
I was never asked how I felt or indeed what support I thought might help me or my mum, yet I was the one who was doing all the caring.
Maddie
“Fortunately, I have more recently been getting the support I need from Barnardo’s and school. I am hoping to go to university, and I am working hard to break the cycle that my family sadly has fallen into.
“I feel happier about my future but will continue as a young carers champion to advocate on behalf of young carers as I do not wish for other young people to go through what I have.
“With ongoing support, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Jack’s experience
“My name is Jack, I am 17, and I live in Ballymena. I am a young carer for a mum who has epilepsy.
“Every day is different for my mum as sometimes she can have no seizures and other days she can have up to seven. These can range from very mild to very major seizures.
“I have shaped my life and future with the view of always being my mum’s carer. I limit my time with my peers as I would rather be at home in case mum has a seizure and I suppose I have missed out on opportunities that others have, as I would rather say at home. I know this can upset my mum as she doesn’t want to feel a burden. I am lucky I have my grandparents living nearby that help me care for mum too.
“I have never had a social worker and relied heavily on the support of Barnardo’s. Barnardo’s to me is more than just a service, to me it is a lifeline.
I have never had a social worker and relied heavily on the support of Barnardo’s. Barnardo’s to me is more than just a service, to me it is a lifeline.
Jack
“One of my main concerns for young carers is the lack of policy specific to them in Northern Ireland. I think this is important as hopefully this will allow professionals across the whole of health, social care, and education to acknowledge there is a need for specific young carers' support.
“Professionals need to understand that young carers do not all fit into the same bracket and their needs are wide and varied. As young people we ‘hope’ for change within the systems that are there to protect us to allow positive futures. Ultimately, we want professionals to listen to us! We want to be heard and to feel valued.”
SEEN is a Barnardo’s Centre building a core foundation of knowledge, a network of people and advocacy for those with authentic experience. We are working to achieve a system change in the provision of services to tackle the disproportionate outcomes children and young people of African, Asian and Caribbean heritage face. Find out more at https://weareseen.org.uk/.
Life Through My Lens
Have you ever wondered what children and young people see when they look at their surroundings? The Life Through My Lens project aims to encourage a more culturally aware approach in children’s services to improve the support we offer to children, young people and families.
“You truly feel respected as an individual, and not a statistic”: How we work with children and young people
The children and young people we work with tell us they’re ambitious for their futures and we need to be ambitious for them too. Launched in 2024, our three-year strategy focuses on the areas where we can make the biggest impact so that all children and young people can be safer, happier, healthier and more hopeful.
The impact of creativity on mental health
Dan, who was first supported by, and now works at, our HYPE (Helping Young People Engage) service in Bristol, chatted to us about all things creativity – and even performed a piece of his poetry for us - to show how having access to creative spaces and the right support has had a positive impact on his mental health.