Music Therapy and Therapeutic Music Groups

The project in summary

Music therapy sessions and activities in favor of HIV-positive young patients hospitalized at the WE-ACTx for Hope clinic in Kigali, Rwanda.

The project in detail

Objectives

The music therapy program, run by Musicians without Borders (MwB), helped HIV-positive youth, treated at the WE-ACTx for Hope clinic in Kigali, address various topics, including the intake of antiretroviral drugs at school and reproductive health, through music. In some cases, music can help explore the social, psychological, economic and physical reasons underlying the failure of antiretroviral drugs on patients. In addition, music therapy improves the mood, drives away despair, contributes to the development of strategies to deal with the disease in everyday life, reduces the feeling of isolation and increases self-confidence.

Beneficiaries

100 young patients at the WE-ACTx for Hope clinic.The clinic was founded in 2004 to provide health care to women having survived the genocide. In 2013, a group of local doctors turned it into an NGO. Today, the clinic continues to provide medical assistance, social and psychological support to HIV positive patients in Kigali and Nyacyonga, a rural village where the NGO has a clinic.
42 HIV positive youth (19-26 years old) participating in weekly music lessons provided by local artists trained by MwB: Community Music Leaders (CML).
1 musicians from Rwanda and 1 assistant trainer for CML.

Activities

In 2016, MwB organized, with Alta Mane support, 2 music-therapy sessions per week for the young patients of the clinic WE-ACTx for Hope. The activities proceeded and followed each visit. Older patients (ages 19 to 26) participated in weekly therapeutic musical groups outside the clinic, learning to compose music and to play the Djembe, the guitar and the piano.

Partner

Musicians without Borders

Founded in 1999, MwB works worldwide using music as a tool to improve living conditions and reconcile populations torn apart by war. MwB collaborates with musicians belonging to civil society organization to respond to local needs. Successful cases are used to standardize and promote models, methodologies and training courses adapted to the needs of other regions. For the first time in 2010, MwB introduced in Rwanda the music-therapy program.

Websites

https://www.musicianswithoutborders.org/projects/rwanda-youth-music/overview/

https://www.musicianswithoutborders.org/2015/04/because-they-were-hiding-they-couldnt-sing/

Information

Fondation Alta Mane has been supporting Musicians without Borders Rwanda Youth Music project since 2013. From 2015 to 2016, Alta Mane support focused on the Community Music Leaders training that took place in Mahama refugee camp (further information). In 2016, Alta Mane supported the music therapy and therapeutic music groups program at the clinic WE-ACTx for Hope in Kigali. Since 2016, Fondation Alta Mane supports the creation and consolidation of the Rwanda Umuziki Hub (further information).