Ross Bleckner should join forces with Fred Mutebi. The former has been named a UN goodwill ambassador. His mission: helping Northern Ugandan children understand the war and their experiences through art. I can’t think of a more sensitive and creative approach that not only expands minds, but also asks for a recognition of the past and the future in a tactful way.
He said that after several days of teaching them rudimentary painting and drawing skills, many began to open up to him and to create work that powerfully expressed their experiences. (Mr. Bleckner said one haunting portrait made as part of the project is thought to be that of a henchman of Joseph Kony, the infamous commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army. Mr. Kony is wanted for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, whose Trust Fund for Victims helped identify the children who participated in the painting project.)
