(Soma iyi nkuru muri Kinyarwanda.)

With experience of using music dating back to 2010, Alphonsine Musabyemariyam is one of our longest-standing Partners. As one of the founders of Youth Led Musical Therapy, she is now responsible for advancing the use of music in care throughout Rwanda. Here, she shares her experiences and vision for the future.

You’ve been a Partner of ours for some time, a journey with music that started many years ago. What is it about music that you think is so important, and what inspires you to continue using it to this day?

I have been using music since 2010 – I use it every day before I start work. Music helps me in my daily work, and it doesn’t take much energy to use music as therapy. But I especially do it on Friday afternoons, with 50 students with mental, physical, hearing and speech disabilities, and there are changes because they are changing, in their studies and in their daily lives.

My students have good grades… there is a benefit because you can teach a child to be a great person and to have confidence in their singing, playing, and showing others with no shame. I strive for every child to be confident in himself and work with no shame to develop himself.

Is that also true for you? Has your understanding, or your musical practice changed or evolved over time?

Yes, it has been very helpful because I am confident in myself in everything I do because of music as therapy. My perception has improved because my knowledge can educate others according to how it has helped me, and I am confident. I will never give up, and if I leave the education career, I will keep on providing training to old persons and youth.

What are the major learnings from your journey so far?

We have obstacles, shortage of tools and equipment, lack of financial resources. But I am still in music as therapy. It is useful to go through difficulties to get to the changes. A strong lesson is that you could think things can’t change but if you keep on, you find music as therapy leads to positive changes and you need not to give up.

The truth is that when you train someone it helps him to be confident of himself, he becomes happy and grateful. It helped me gain confidence in my daily works and among my workmates and helped me overcome loneliness.

In recent years, you have started your own association, Youth Led Musical Therapy.  What made you decide to be part of this?

The reason is that many people can perform many achievements in short time that one person is incapable to perform. My wish is to help to train others because music is beneficial to people; and we the educators are motivated because we enjoy of the positive results and are happy.

You have already achieved so much with your work with music. Do you have any further aspirations and plans, either for YLMT or Rwanda as a whole?

Music as therapy has contributed to the to the discouraging of stigmatisation. There is currently a forum for making music freely, the youth are being supported because the problems they face are removed by practicing music.

Even if I have no means, my vision is to bring music as therapy to all levels until district level, invite all beneficiaries, train them and showing them the benefits of music and what they can gain from it, because music is important.