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What it is like growing up in Lavender Hill

It’s not easy growing up in Lavender Hill. Young people in this community are exposed to violence and crime on a daily basis and often don’t have positive role models or a healthy way to express their feelings. Our Music for Life team has been offering marimba and gumboots dance sessions in Lavender Hill for the last three and a half years to help these young people cope with their difficult circumstances. We spoke to some of the teachers, parents, community members and Music for Life participants to find out how the programme is helping the youth in Lavender Hill. A headmaster at a local school told us that the youth of Lavender Hill have “abnormal childhoods” and are “prisoners in their own homes”. They can’t play outside because of the danger of gang violence. They feel frustrated and angry, but don’t have a healthy way of expressing this, so they end up ‘acting out’ at school through bullying and distracting or withdrawn behaviour in class. They see school as a place to play and be children, and the teachers struggle to keep them focused and work. The Music for Life team helps the young people grow in positive ways, by giving them a space… Read More »What it is like growing up in Lavender Hill

Why music is good for children…

Music should be an essential part of every child’s daily life. Music activates all parts of the human brain and this means that listening to and participating in music can be beneficial to children in all areas of their life and their development. Yes, music can make your child smarter! Researchers have found that active and meaningful participation in music actually changes the brain and can even increase IQ levels. Music can make learning fun and can help children remember information more easily. Children who participate in music have been found to have higher levels of school attendance, pay closer attention in class and even get higher marks. Music helps children make friends. Playing music in groups helps them connect with likeminded people. It builds their social skills and offers a sense of belonging. Personal resources, such as self-esteem, self-confidence, persistence and self-discipline, can also be enhanced by participating in music. Music can also have a positive impact on children’s emotional behaviour. It can help them identify their emotions and express them in a healthy way. Songs that are familiar to children help them feel connected to their world and understood. Sometimes children struggle to organise all the information they take in with their senses… Read More »Why music is good for children…

TARGET: therapeutic music services to 5000 children by 2018

Our society faces unprecedented high levels of violence against children. Abuse and neglect in early childhood affects brain development and impacts on cognitive and psycho-social adjustment, which results in an increased risk of violent and anti-social behaviour. So for more than a decade MusicWorks has worked in marginalised communities using the power of music to provide emotional healing and to develop children’s resilience. Our aim is to help them increase their potential to flourish amidst adversity. Through a musical process, children’s abilities are strengthened and transferred to other areas of their lives. We are not just making music for the sake of fun, entertainment or to give children something to do after school. We are making music for the sake of changing lives. We have provided services for 4 779 children during the past seven years. If you want to make a long term impact on a child’s life, help us reach our 2018 target of reaching 5 000 beneficiaries overall and join us in our quest. By becoming a MusicWorks sponsor you will give a child the chance to experience music and to thrive by joining: individual or group music therapy sessions A marimba band Or a gumboot dance group We have made it… Read More »TARGET: therapeutic music services to 5000 children by 2018

Join the FRIENDS OF MUSICWORKS campaign

Our society is facing unprecedented high levels of violence against children. Access to safe spaces and therapeutic support structures have a direct impact on children’s ability to flourish amidst adversity. Join the FRIENDS OF MUSICWORKS campaign and help us to bring hope and possibilities through music to hundreds of children growing up in marginalised communities in Cape Town. This is how FRIENDS OF MUSICWORKS can support us: [mini-icon icon=”music”]Share, like or comment on our social media posts and spread the word about MusicWorks to your community and networks. If you are not already following us, we are on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube. [mini-icon icon=”music”]Talk to your family, friends, colleagues and community about MusicWorks and encourage them to become involved. You might know people that would be interested in making a donation. Or perhaps you know someone who would want to become a FRIEND OF MUSICWORKS. [mini-icon icon=”music”]Host a Play It Forward concert or event in benefit of MusicWorks. This can take any form, shape or size. The idea behind the Play It Forward events are that someone in the audience then commits to taking the baton forward and host the next concert or event. We have some excellent film clips that we would be happy… Read More »Join the FRIENDS OF MUSICWORKS campaign

This is how Music Works…

Since 2002, MusicWorks has established itself as a leading force around the world in using music to bring about social change. Driven by a passion to mobilise musical resources across the Cape Peninsula’s most marginalised communities, MusicWorks has used the power of music to provide its impact. Music Therapists working alongside Community Musicians established three programmes that focus on clinical Music Therapy interventions, an Early Childhood Development training programme and the Music for Life after-school programme. We invite you to watch this short film that brings to life the change that is brought about every day using Music as a powerful tool that brings about hope and possibilities.