There are many prejudices against young mothers, e.g. fun-loving, unmotivated, indecent, etc. However, there are also ambitious young ladies who fight for their dreams while learning to be a good mother. Hoping to remove the undesirable labels for young mothers, YWCA invites members of the community such as photographers, narrative therapist and youth volunteers to presents their views through an exhibition. 

“Shine My Life Online Virtual Photography Exhibition” tells the stories of six young mothers, each with distinct experience which results in different parenting styles. Crystal, barely 20 years old, had low self-esteem and lost trust in people because of relentless bullying. Therefore, she is determined to show her son a loving and welcoming world, despite the unexpected pregnancy. 

Gloria, “the diligent mother”, devoted all her time and effort to her baby girl since giving birth. She did not realised she had to attend to her own needs, until her daughter turned two. Now she spends time to develop her interest. Apart from enhancing herself, she also earns time for leisure and hence maintains a positive attitude towards the care-taking duty.

To encourage young mothers to open up about their struggles, a group of volunteers were invited to join the project. Narrative therapy practitioner and storywriter identified the values of the mothers and recorded their inspiring stories in words, while photographers and their assistants captured the beautiful moments of the mothers. Ying-Tong, one of the photography assistants, begins to understand the feeling of being a mother, and realises anger does not come from hatred, but rather worries for the children. Jo, the storywriter, wishes to use her writings to help build a society that is more understanding and compassionate towards young mothers and their families.

Shine My Life Online Virtual Photography Exhibition【Enter HERE】

Dates: Jul 22 - Aug 21, 2022

Admission: Free

Three exhibition zones:

Face to Face - A collection of close-up representing the beauty of the mothers

Voice of Young Mothers - The stories of teenage girls becoming mothers

Young Mothers in Your Eyes - Project team’s perception of the young mothers 

Special thanks

Photographers: Rodrigue Poon, Kenneth Kwong, Andrew Leong　　
Volunteer photography assistants: Tin-Tin, Henry, James, Ying-Tong, Mac Tsui, Chung Hei
Storywriter: Jo Leung
Narrative Therapy Practitioner: Yee
Social workers: Anton Leung, Geena Yik, Maggie Chan, Eva Wong
Make-up Artist: Angie Lo
Exhibition Production: Jasmine Leung