Pubblicato il 10/06/2026

A monumental mural has been created on the walls of the “Madonnuzza” school complex in Mazzarino, Sicily. It was painted by the artist Salvo Ligama with the support of our volunteers, and we are proud to celebrate the collaboration that made it possible, together with our partners I Girasoli and Service Volontaire International (SVI). Thanks to this joint effort, a public space has become a lasting symbol of solidarity.

The true value of this project lies in its process. The young people with a migration background welcomed in the town through the SAI programme for unaccompanied foreign minors worked side by side with the artist, painting the wall and leaving their own mark on it. Jeanne, a talented Belgian volunteer and artist who arrived in Sicily through our network and SVI Belgium, joined them and led engaging art workshops, becoming a true co author of the final artwork. The active participation of these young people was the heart of the initiative: they are the creators of a work that will carry its message forward over time.

The mural portrays two inspiring international activists. The first is Monica Malith, a young woman from South Sudan with a refugee background, who brought her struggle to the UN General Assembly to defend the right to education of displaced youth. The second is Mariia Sulialina, director of the “Almenda” centre in Ukraine and Civil Rights Defender of the Year 2024, honoured for her courageous work protecting children in war zones.

Around their portraits, the artist painted bright yellow flowers: the traditional “ciuri di maju”, the Flowers of May. These flowers link the mural’s universal message of resistance and hope to the local heritage of Mazzarino and to its festival of the Santissimo Crocifisso dell’Olmo.