Project Rwanda
Music as Therapy International are delighted to announce a new partnership: Over the past three years we have been following with admiration the work of Music Therapists Helen Leith and Judith Nockolds in Rwanda. MasT International will be working together with Helen to deliver a six-week introductory Music Therapy Skill Sharing Project in the Cyangugu district of Rwanda, in two care settings she knows well.
In late August we will send a team of two, comprising a Music Therapist and an ‘Assistant’ to share their skills with local staff working in a residential home and a day centre in the Rusizi district of Rwanda. The Project will run for just over six weeks, at the end of which staff will be equipped with the necessary materials, skills and experience to run a sustainable music programme for the children in their care.
Helen approached Music as Therapy International in the hope that we could formally help her build on the music therapy skill sharing work done in Rwanda since 2006. Helen has been working with Tubakunde, an umbrella association of day and residential centres for learning disabled children in Rwanda. Past visits have included observing work in day centres, meeting Tubakunde staff and local professionals, delivering a three day residential Introduction to Music Therapy and Interactive Music Making, as well as follow-up in house training for staff in selected centres.
The initial response from the staff was fantastic! When asked what they most appreciated about the training staff said “…particularly the way of placing the child at the centre of the activity; I find this validating for the child and important for their personality…to see that you need to be patient and loving towards the children in order not to lose their trust, and to play games that are adapted to each disability.”
From her experience of visiting and working in institutions during repeated stays in Rwanda Helen has seen that there is genuine commitment and desire on the part of the Rwandan partners to improve the quality of lives for disabled children in Rwanda and their own professional skills. As disabled people are considered to be a source of shame in Rwandan society and are actively and passively excluded from society, their identity as people with emotional needs and potential has yet to be fully to be recognised and nurtured. Shared music making is an ideal way of encouraging development and strengthening the relationship between staff and children.
Helen approached Music as Therapy International to discuss ways in which she could help build on her initial investment and put it on a more sustainable footing. It was agreed that MasT International should form a partnership and support Helen to deliver a six-week Introductory Music Therapy Training Project to staff in the Ngwino Nawe and Nkanka Nkanka centres. Two volunteers from the UK, a music therapist and 'assistant' will travel to Rwanda and leave staff with the skills, confidence and musical instruments to run music sessions, leaving behind a culturally sensitive written or recorded training resource to ensure the long-term sustainability of the training. Helen's aim is to encourage staff to learn the basics of interactive music-making in the context of their own cultural heritage, as well as peer exchange between staff at the centres - and hopefully with staff in the wider Tubakunde network.
To read about how this project is unfolding follow the team's Blog.
After the initial six-week project, Music as Therapy International will continue to work together with Helen to evaluate the impact of the project and support Local staff to develop their music programmes on into the future.
