Aya is the kind of person who brightens the gloomiest of days. She can expands your mind with philosophical ponderings and paint a picture of peace with her words. I met with her a few months ago on a very dreary day in May- she is my first victim interviewee. It was like any other catch up but this time she shared her secret into how her mind ticks. Aya’s insightfulness into her actions formed early on in her childhood when a fox taught her to question her intentions and what it means to “do good”.

When she was a young girl her path was crossed by fox wandering along the road. It looked hungry so instinctively she wanted to help.  She offered it food and felt good that her act of kindness had “saved” this fox’s life. Her father watched on in bemusement as his ten year old daughter attempt to befriend the wild creature. When he called her back to the car he saw her hesitate and asked if she was going to stay with the fox forever. She thought the fox needed her! She couldn’t abandon it but she also wanted to go home. It was the first time she remembers feeling conflicted about whether her kind deed was actually helpful.

“You have to think about kindness.”

Reflecting on her own actions and their impact has helped Aya a solid work ethic. Her greatest success and challenge started in 2011 when she co-founded Peace Palette with friend and muse David Nyuol.  It is grassroots organisation which builds on the spectrum of skills and talents of their volunteers and beneficiaries. At every level people are encouraged to contribute ideas, skills and creativity. At the heart of their work is the community’s needs. The community direct and lead the projects with the support from Peace Palette’s volunteers in South Sudan, Japan and Australia.  

Building a grassroots organisation has taken Aya years of dedication, flexibility and creativity. She has a refreshing approach to being the organisations operational director. She doesn’t want to manage people; she wants to inspires them. She describes their work as artist bringing together different cultures and ideologies blend and juxtapose for a dynamic yet harmonious world. She created the name Peace Palette when she was taking the tram through the city and saw all the vibrant and dark colours of the other passengers’ tops. She thought it looked like a painter’s palette and saw how they mixed together perfectly.

One of their biggest challenges is securing investors for their programs. The returns for backing projects like the Nhomalu Children’s Centre aren’t big bucks, it is far more enriching than money. It is life saving and peace building. The ripple effect of a social impact investment (backing meaningful and sustainable projects and businesses) can contribute to peacebuilding and stability in South Sudan and its neighbouring countries for the future. Giving generously or regularly to purposeful organisations makes a huge difference!

I’ve always admired Aya’s compassion and philosophy about kindness but I walked away from our interview with even more respect for her work and values. She appreciates the simple pleasure of sharing food and deconstructing Disney lyrics. When I asked for her advice on what small acts of kindness people can do to create a more peaceful world she paused and looked like an artist contemplating their next brush stroke. “A peaceful society, to me, is a society where people understand each other with words and with actions.”

To find out more and let Peace Palette inspire you follow this link http://www.peacepalette.org/