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With the recognition
of Slovenia and Croatia as independent states in early 1992,
Bosnia was set on a path to war. Croats and Muslims did not
want to live in a Yugoslavia dominated by Serbs, and Bosnian
Serbs would not consider living in a sovereign Bosnia dominated
by Muslims. More than 200,000 people had died and close to
a million had been displaced by the time a ceasefire had
been negotiated in 1995.
Research carried out in Bosnia Herzegovina
has revealed that children growing up in a post-war environment
demonstrate similar levels of trauma to their parents who
lived through the conflict. Music therapy provides these
children with experiences of socialisation, communication
and the expression of emotions, helping to break the cycle
of trauma. War Child also supports a project that delivers £2.5million worth of food and clothing every year
to Kosovans living on incomes of less than US$2 a day.
BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA
Music Therapy Treatment and Research Centre
The Music Therapy Education and Research Centre housed within the Pavarotti Music Centre in Mostar, Bosnia Herzegovina is the only music therapy clinic in the world that specialises in post-traumatic stress in children in a post-war environment. It has treated over a thousand severely traumatised children since its doors opened in 1998. Music therapy is based on the understanding that everyone has the potential to respond and express themselves through music. Everyone can be drawn to active music-making to form a musical relationship with another person. Through this relationship, changes and developments can be encouraged within a safe, therapeutic environment. The role of the music therapist is to work supportively, accepting and enhancing the responses of a child or young person. This method provides experiences of socialisation, communication and the expression of emotions.
The music therapy team works with all parts of the community receiving referrals from teachers, social workers, psychologists, speech therapists and parents. The music therapy team also undertakes outreach work in and around the town of Mostar, such as the special needs centre in Trebinje, Caritas home for children, the only psychiatric unit in Mostar and a UNHCR run Kosovan refugee camp set up in 1999 and sheltering over 200 young children.
Despite the fact that the war ended in 1995, research in Mostar on second generation trauma has demonstrated that children born in a post-war environment raised by parents and/or caregivers who have been traumatised by conflict demonstrate similar responses and behavioural problems to those diagnosed in people directly affected by the war. Two years ago, the United Nations stated that Mostar had the highest level of trauma in the whole region. Furthermore, a failing health service has led to an increase in illness and disabilities and Mostar’s shattered economy has created a depressed community with increased suicide rates, drug and alcohol dependencies as well as crime.
Used by a trained music therapist, the structure and nonverbal processes in music provide the child with the means of expressing emotions, developing concentration, personal awareness, organised behaviour and confidence. Music therapy is one of the few effective methodologies in working with children who are isolated, depressed, withdrawn, have developmental delays or behavioural issues. All of these symptoms appear in post-war sites and in special needs children, but are often not diagnosed as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
War Child plans to fully support the music therapy programme over a three year period and capacity build it so that it can work towards becoming fully sustainable and autonomous thus ensuring that the music therapists can continue to provide their much needed services to the local community. However, following a reduction in donor funding, the music therapy
clinic faces a major funding crisis and will be forced to
close if sufficient funds cannot be secured. If you would
like further information about this worthwhile
project or would be interested in supporting the project please
contact War Child UK on +44 (0)20 7916 9276.
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Past projects
Since its inception, War Child has been active in the Balkans. Here are highlights of some past successes:
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ART MATERIALS – ART WORKSHOP, PAVAROTTI MUSIC CENTRE,
MOSTAR
The art workshop was set up in the centre to teach children
of mixed ethnicity basic art skills, familiarise themselves
with art materials and allow them to express emotions through
their drawing. It also encourages the
children’s creativity and group work. War Child supplied
a donation of stationery for the project, including crayons,
pencils, felt-tip markers and coloured paper to enable the
project to start.
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VESELA ULICA FESTIVAL, MOSTAR – (HAPPY STREET FESTIVAL)
War Child funded this week long
festival in and around Mostar for three years running. In the third year, the festival attracted 920 participants of different ages, with more than 150 children participating in the workshops
each day. It consisted of various workshops including production
of musical instruments, puppets, jewellery, masks and kites,
art, face painting and textile skills. In addition, children
played competitive games
and awards were given to the winners. Dancing, singing, telling
jokes and talking on a one-to-one basis with the children
about the daily problems were also incorporated into the week.
There was a considerable amount of
very positive media coverage of the festival.
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SCHOOLS CROSSING PROJECT, VUSHTRRI, KOSOVO
Vushtrri is located in north central Kosovo on a main road
that connects Pristina and Mitrovica.
Vushtrri town was shelled on the first day that NATO bombing
began, and thousands of residents were expelled. The location
of the municipality has meant that the road traffic through
the town has been extremely heavy both during and after the
conflict and the road has had no repairs. As a result the
road is extremely dangerous to the children that live in the
town and no road awareness has been given to children prior
to War Child’s intervention through a locally based
NGO.
War Child funded the Office for Security and Cooperation
in Europe’s Kosovo Police Service School in 2003, which
started the first schools’ crossing programme in Kosovo.
The funds have provided mini stop signs for the children to
show to cars as they cross the road as well as fluorescent
vests and hats for children in thirty two schools in order
to make the children more visible. Of the six hundred and
sixty eight schools in Kosovo, four hundred are situated on
the side of roads, posing a significant threat to the children’s
safety. Such Road Safety Campaigns have shown a 62% reduction
in child injuries on bikes and on foot in Kosovo.
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