Colombia: No Child Should be a Soldier

MADRE's sister organization, Taller de Vida, works tirelessly to provide safe spaces for young people who have been former child soldiers or are at risk for being recruited. MADRE is supporting Taller de Vida to re-open a Youth Center in Usme. The Usme Youth Center will have youth programs which will allow young people to share their experiences and speak openly against violence through art, music and performance. These forms of art therapy, guided by professional art therapists and counselors, allow youth to heal from the traumas they've faced and rebuild their lives in a culture of peace.

Links:

• Taller de Vida
• MADRE's program in Colombia

Taller de Vida, or “Workshop of Life,” was founded by two sisters who believed in harnessing art and self-expression as a means to combat psychological and physical trauma.

Taller de Vida provides youth affected by Colombia’s decades-long war with trauma counseling, education and a variety of after-school arts enrichment programs. From sculpting intricate bowls to engaging in spoken-word performances, child victims of the war are given platforms to express themselves creatively. They use art as a way to confront and overcome painful memories.

*Miguel is a young man from Altos de Cazuca, Colombia, who narrowly escaped forced recruitment with a group of paramilitaries. Miguel, impoverished and living on the streets, was on the verge of joining the paramilitaries when one of his friends intervened and sent him to Taller de Vida. Taller provided Miguel with a sanctuary and haven of self-expression. It changed his life. Miguel now has the opportunity to explore his identity outside the oppressive parameters of war and violence:

“I’ve been here a year and for me it’s been like salvation.  First of all, because it’s a place where you feel like you are worth something to someone.  They listen and respect you for who you are.  They help you to be a better person and to love and take care of yourself.  Thanks to your help, I am studying and playing in a capoeira group.  This has helped me so much.  I have learned to control myself.  I have learned things about myself I never knew.  You have helped me to see that there are other options for me besides war. Going to Taller de Vida means getting a chance to LIVE, to know ourselves, to realize that it doesn’t stop with us not going to war but that we must do something for our country. We have shown the adults of our neighborhood that we are capable of doing productive things.  We are beginning to gain their respect.  The armed groups have not gotten to us because we are no longer going to them desperate.”

*Miguel’s name has been changed to protect his identity

Links:

• Taller de Vida
• MADRE's program in Colombia

The following story is from a young woman named Marta, who was forced to join a paramilitary group in Colombia when she was only 11 years old. MADRE's partner organization in Colombia, Taller de Vida, has aided her in escaping a life of violence.

“We never experienced a childhood,” said Marta, who was kidnapped and trained to fight for a paramilitary group in Colombia 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.

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. The organization provides trauma counseling and remedial education to help children who have been displaced catch up on their schooling, adjust to life in the city, and defend their human rights.

Taller de Vida also offers after-school sports, art, and theater programs to help young people develop their artistic talents and learn to express themselves through acting, dance, writing and painting. These programs help young people who have experienced enduring trauma from the armed conflict envision—and work to create—a more peaceful world. Through art, the youth at Taller de Vida are able to share past experiences and build a network of support for their future.

Links:

• Taller de Vida
• MADRE's Program in Colombia