Programmes
To many, making music suggests a luxury pastime, a ‘nice to have’. To the children in our programmes, making music is a necessity, a life line. Since 2003, our work has strengthened our belief that music offers alternatives.
- To young children who have been silenced by abuse and neglect, music groups provide a safe space where they can rediscover playfulness and creativity – where their voices matter.
- To children who have experienced unspeakable trauma, music may become a medium through which they can express the inexpressible and begin to create more hopeful stories for their lives.
- To teenage girls who are grappling with the many injustices in their world, song writing becomes a way of overcoming voicelessness.
- To teenage boys, living in a community where gangs are always looking to recruit, marimba bands and drumming circles offer a different sense of identity and belonging.
- To children with debilitating illness who are locked in a world of their own, music offers a way to make contact with the world – to communicate.
- To all young people and children, music-making enables an escape from social isolation, towards a greater sense of community and possibility for their lives.
- To caregivers, educational and community workers, music programme training offers tools and skills to enhance the emotional and social development of the children in their care.