My second visit to Bethlehem was focused on finding out how staff at SOS Village and School were making use of the therapeutic music techniques they had practiced during our initial visit.
I'm pleased to report that staff have been able to continue using music therapeutically, and have begun to develop their own style of leading these groups. It was fantastic to see that children we worked with on our first visit were still attending music as therapy groups, and also to see how much they had improved. We could see the development of their creativity, communication skills and self-confidence. All showed much greater concentration, and an enormous enjoyment of the experience.
The challenge now is to support this emerging staff team so they can not only develop their own skills, but hopefully pass them on to other professionals.
Just as last time, people were unfailingly kind and welcoming. We visited the family home of the school social worker and met his children. His wife prepared a delicious lunch for us, after we had shopped for the ingredients in the local market. It was also great to see the children we stayed with last year. They had lots of photos of us and drawings on their walls.
Once again, and fantastic experience.
Thursday 20 May 2010
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