An art therapist comes home to work with women and children

Jwan Omar, is one of the children born in the midst of war. When she was just one month old (and her brother, Shwan, was 1 year old) her father was abducted by the militias in Baghdad and went missing. The family later learned that he was burned to death. They never knew the reason why. When she was 7-years old, her mother decided to move from Baghdad to Sulaymaniyah in Iraq, Kurdistan. Today, in her early 40s Jwan has returned to help those recently displace and those affected by the current conflict.

“Can you imagine how my mother, Fatima, coped?” she asks. “She was jobless, lost her husband and struggled to raise two growing children. I cannot describe how she survived and raised us on her own,” she says.

“My personal goal for this program is to bring a smile back to the displaced children’s faces,” says Jwan Omar.

From a young age, Jwan always felt that she had creative blood in her. She loves sculpting and decided to pursue a degree in Fine Arts at an institute in Sulaymaniyah. Remembering fondly, Jwan said her mother would always say she got her artist’s inclination from her father who was a very good carpenter. “If not for the conflict and violence around us, I would have known my father well,” she laments. 

With time and lots of hard work, Jwan was able to complete a degree in Fine Arts focused on Art Therapy. After living abroad for more than 20 years in Sweden and Canada, she felt it was time to return to her roots.

Jwan remembers feeling miserable hearing about the worsening condition in Iraq and was challenged to go home to help her countrymen in dire need. Initially she worked with a local organization helping refugee children from Syria who had been traumatized by war through art. She saw the impact of art in their lives and saw the need for more such programmes.  Today, she works as supervisor for World Vision’s programme for Women and Young Children’s Space (WAYCS) in the Sulaymaniyah Governorate in Iraq. 

"Even the simplest of creative activities can provide a venue for women and children to start their healing process,” Jwan says. 

“My personal goal for this program is to bring a smile back to the displaced children’s faces,” she says, full of conviction, noting how art can provide an opportunity for people to express themselves. "Even the simplest of creative activities can provide a venue for women and children to start their healing process,” she says. “What is important is we help them make it happen. We guide them so they feel that we are there and they are not alone," she adds.

“I know how they feel. I also want to encourage Iraqi women to never give up and never lose hope,” she adds. Although the work with World Vision is just beginning, Jwan is very excited, knowing how much the women of Iraq have to give.

I also want to encourage Iraqi women to never give up and never lose hope,” Jwan.

“The Iraqi women need to be confident and be themselves,” she says. “Often, they think too much about other people’s expectations. [But], they are very resilient. They have gone through so many conflicts. They take care of so many things, especially the needs of the entire family. They just need to realize the power they have and bring out what is best for themselves,” she explains. 

There are many women all over the world who take their freedom and good life for granted, Jwan believes. She tells others: “Accept your realities and be thankful of them. Material things do not last. Go for what can nourish your heart and soul,” she encourages.  “I learned patience and gratitude from my mother. She suffered endlessly but she kept going and never lost hope,” she added.

“We are survivors. We have gone through so much but we continue to endure," Jwan.

The lessons from Mother Theresa, Gandhi and Nelson Mandela inspire her to do what she can for her people. “We are strong,” she says. “We are survivors. We have gone through so much but we continue to endure. We are like fish that so many want to catch but we are too slippery to catch.”

In parting, Jwan expressed her wish for the people of Iraq – and the rest of humanity – to have peace. “Everyone deserves to live in peace wherever they are,” she says.