Inspired by the documentary Born into Brothels, which explores how the lives of children from Calcutta's red light district were transformed through learning photography, with the help of Asha-Nepal, a UK charity working for women's and children's rights in Nepal, I decided to run a similar project here.

We started in September last year in Pokhara. My first students were 22 girls, aged six to 16, from SOS Bahini, which looks after girls from desperate situations, housing them with families and putting them through local schools. All are from poor backgrounds; most have lost one or both parents; one was found in rags, barely able to walk or talk.

At SOS Bahini they have blossomed, but, unlike girls brought up in more equal societies, they find it difficult to form or verbalise opinions. Photography encourages creativity and self-expression largely because it is so simple and so immediate. As soon as they got the cameras, the girls snapped away excitedly.

One type of shot prevailed at the beginning: a full-length photo of friends standing to attention. But My World, My View aims to encourage children to explore and capture their world in all its reality, good and bad. The girls soon began to photograph their daily lives, with 'najik' and 'natural' as their watchwords.

We initially used conventional cameras, but 36 frames and a fixed wide-angle lens were too limiting. Once we moved onto digital cameras with zoom lenses, there was no stopping them. Parvati, who is just six, would return from assignments with 300 shots. She and some of her friends will be here next week to see their remarkable work on show at the British Council. The exhibition is one of the important outcomes of the project, to validate the students' talents and worth.

I hope they won't stop here. As Belmaya, 14, says: "Boys say, this is a girl, she can't do anything. But I want to lead my life independently and show them I can do something. I'd like to photograph women to show the injustices against them-bringing wood from the forests and carrying heavy loads, while men sit and give orders." These girls are set to be the next generation of photojournalists.

Sue Carpenter is a journalist and photographer.

More information on and images from the project are at www.asha-nepal.org.

My World, My View 1 runs from 6-13 February at the British Council, Lainchaur. Prints are on sale at the exhibition.

Parvati, age six, always has a refreshing perspective. She often takes pictures of tourists and has a striking and amusing series of this woman in her glittery kurta and shiny handbag. With the white World Peace Pagoda and blue sky in stark contrast behind her (and Parvati right at her feet) this is a great contemporary image.

Belmaya was thinking of home, she says, when Kamala snapped this candid picture of her lost in thought.

With her quiet, unassuming nature, Sunita N, 14, captures candid shots when the subject is unaware of the camera, such as this one of Belmaya.

Anju's shot of Sunita G is captivating. The colour of her kurtha and the earth-red background, along with Sunita's gaze out of the frame, make this a picture you can keep turning to. Anju is slightly physically disabled and her early shots were of heads and ceilings, so her achievement is all the greater.

Young Parvati again and again gets in close to the action and comes up with an original, winning shot. Because she is so small, people often overlook her, which adds to her ability to take natural, candid shots of people like this one of Sue with Belmaya, left, and Sunita N, right.

Laxmi, 12, was part of the group that went on assignment to Pokhara's Bindyabasini temple during Dasain sacrifices and came back with great reportage, having shot the temple-goers, incense sticks, idols, and offerings.

The girls love doing close-ups-of existing photos, posters, flowers, food, as well as still lifes like this one by Parvati of the personal items of a fellow SOS Bahini girl and her mother.