This year, for Mother’s Day, we are sharing the stories from across the globe of women – mothers – who are demanding justice for women and their families. Through their determination and effort, they have remade their communities and created real change.
In Colombia, children are forced to become soldiers. “We never experienced a childhood,” said Marta, who was kidnapped and trained to fight for a paramilitary group when she was 11. “We exchanged our dolls for rifles, our games for combat.” Marta was eventually released onto the streets of Bogotá but she could barely read and was haunted by the killings she had been forced to commit. Now a young mother, she was left with few options to create a life for herself and for her child.
Marta found MADRE’s partner organization, Taller de Vida. Today she helps other young people heal from the wounds of war and build real alternatives to lives of violence. “Taller de Vida gave me una nueva vida (a new life),” said Marta, knowing that she and her young child have found a new family. The organization provides trauma counseling and art and play therapy to former child soldiers and children who are at high-risk of being recruited by armed groups. MADRE member and youth media producer Miguel Macias recently conducted a series of multimedia workshops at Taller de Vida. Miguel gave former child soldiers like Marta the tools and skills to tell their stories. Click here to see video highlights of their work.
How You Can Help This Mother’s Day:
A Mother’s Day gift of $25 will sponsor one trauma counseling session for a group of ten former child soldiers. With every gift you make for this Mother’s Day, we will send a beautiful card to the person of your choice, telling them about the important work that you are supporting in their name.
To read other stories from the Mothers Make the World series, click here.
Posted by: |