FAMILIES in Govan celebrated this week after a three-month project that portrays childhood in the area was published.

Picture This: A Govan Childhood is a collaborative project that captures the very essence of growing up in Govan.

In a picture diary, nine families who live in the area were tasked with the challenge of capturing what childhood means in their community.

Matt Forde, national head for NSPCC Scotland, said: “What we were wanting to do is bring everyone together to celebrate the strengths of community life in Govan and share knowledge on what needs to change to give children the upbringing they deserve.

“When we embarked on this journey we wanted to know what life was like already, we wanted to see what the strengths and what the weaknesses were.”

The book is part of NSPCC Scotland’s Together for Childhood project, which aims to bring local organisations and families together to make communities safer places for children to grow up in.

NSPCC Scotland’s campaigns manager Carla Malseed said: “It shows a different Govan than that usually portrayed by statistics, and instead it focuses on the strengths of the community, of which we know there are many.

“The book speaks about the great park the area has, the wonderful community groups and also the great transport links to other parts of the city.

“But really what the main thing the families said was the real sense of community that the area hosts.

“They all said they knew their neighbours, they said that they felt that Govan was a diverse place and that it is accepting of different cultures.”

Families that took part in the project have said it has allowed them to engage fully with different areas and groups in their community.

Rajine, a mum-of two who took part in the project, said: “It really brought us together and gave our family an opportunity to spend more time together.

“I think the positive message that I took from it was that there is so much that my community has to offer even for the kids – and you don’t need to spend any money doing it.

“Govan is so underrated and often we think of all the negatives before we do the positives.

“It really helped me to engage with the wonderful area that I live in.”