“With art there is no barrier.” These words concluded a brief interview I had with Milcah Lalam, a woman from South Sudan who provides psychosocial rehabilitation for communities within this newly formed country.

Milcah works through RECONCILE International, an organization that is attempting to pick up the pieces in Sudan after the recent civil war, which killed nearly 2 million people and devastated the country. The basic aim of RECONCILE is to “equip communities with knowledge and skills for peace-building.”

I first learned of Milcah’s work through listening to her speak at an event hosted by Presbyterian Women at the United Nation’s 55^th CSW this past February. Her voice and stories were as intriguing as her method for treatment: she utilizes art as a form of trauma therapy for South Sudanese women.

Just as she does in villages and towns across South Sudan, Milcah distributed pieces of paper with blank paper mandalas to those gathered in the UN Church Center to hear her speak. She asked those present to listen to her stories while filling in the elaborate designs as she spoke.

Later, during an interview with me, she explained, “It (art) helps people to be free and open without being afraid. Words limited because of language barriers – or because the pain is too deep to be spoken – can be said through art.”

While transformative, Milcah’s work encounters many challenges. Milcah noted the greatest obstacle to her work is the absence of pre-existing structures to support the change she implements. “For example,” she begins, “women experiencing violence have no appropriate police system to protect them. Perpetrators may commit crimes and walk freely.”

She concluded with a sobering thought, “When I know all the work I have done can be undone in a matter of minutes or days, it is very discouraging.”

I asked Milcah what gave her the most hope in her work and she explained that, “Receiving a phone call or a letter from a woman or a man or a community who went through our training and now feels like their life has changed. Knowing that they are better able to engage in economic activity, a trade and they are helping others to heal –that gives me hope.”

She explained that these small instances encourage her that the work is having an effect.

Milcah’s straightforward methods contrasted sharply with the bureaucratic ideas I heard in high-level panels with official delegates, across the street in the UN’s North Lawn building. And yet, despite the simplicity, her methods worked and do provide needed space for women – both at the UN and in South Sudan.

Further details: I met and became friends with Milcah Lalam while attending the United Nation’s 55^th Commission on the Status of Women. Milcah works as the Program Manager for RECONCILE Peace Institute – an organization that is a partner in mission with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) The side event I mentioned was hosted by the Presbyterian Women of the PC (U.S.A.) and was called: “The Empowerment of Rural Women and Their Role in Poverty and Hunger Eradication, Development and Current Challenges.” All quotes are from an interview I conducted on February 25, 2011.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has posted videos of Milcah addressing additional questions on its Peacemaking Chanel on YouTube.

Photo credit: Mandala drawn by Jackie Spycher.