Silvie & Dionysa
One
of the first people Aruna mentioned to me was Silvie,
who founded the ‘Steady’ organization for teen moms.
Initially, we met just so she could tell me about
teenage motherhood in Rotterdam, but she and her
daughter were such fascinating characters that I
ended up creating a great portrait of them.
Painful decisions have to be made as we edit, and although Silvie’s portrait did not make it to the final 12, she helped us understand what some of the other women we met have gone through. She doesn’t come across like an activist but she’s done much for young mothers in Rotterdam since she gave birth to her baby Dionysa at just 17.
From the offset, she did not want to conform to the prejudices about teen-moms. Determined not to be dependent on others, she began the daunting task of finding out exactly what her rights were. The authorities sent her round in circles, but she persevered. As her knowledge increased, other teen moms began to go to her for advice and Steady was born. Today she’s an advisor at Steady’s parent company ‘Scala’ and her daughter Dionysa is 13-years-old. Dionysa can’t imagine being a mother any time soon.
Painful decisions have to be made as we edit, and although Silvie’s portrait did not make it to the final 12, she helped us understand what some of the other women we met have gone through. She doesn’t come across like an activist but she’s done much for young mothers in Rotterdam since she gave birth to her baby Dionysa at just 17.
From the offset, she did not want to conform to the prejudices about teen-moms. Determined not to be dependent on others, she began the daunting task of finding out exactly what her rights were. The authorities sent her round in circles, but she persevered. As her knowledge increased, other teen moms began to go to her for advice and Steady was born. Today she’s an advisor at Steady’s parent company ‘Scala’ and her daughter Dionysa is 13-years-old. Dionysa can’t imagine being a mother any time soon.