• The Healing in Harmony program provides music therapy for survivors of sexual violence and other traumas, as well as those who care for them.
• Working in tandem with a trained therapist and music producer, participants begin the healing process by writing, recording and professionally producing songs about their emotions and experiences; simultaneously engaging in therapy and developing their own musical artistry.
• The environment created is one of joy and healing, focusing on turning negative thinking patterns into positive and more adaptive ones.
• Participants emerge as confident artists and advocates publicly disseminating their music through local radio and television broadcasts, social media, community concerts and CD distribution, reducing stigma about sexual violence, HIV/AIDS, poverty, mental illness, displacement/refugee status, and more.

Healing in Harmony helps to:

• Give participants a new and more effective channel to express their feelings, experiences, and needs in order to cope with their trauma and hardships
• Facilitate improved communication with caregivers allowing them to properly identify and address the needs of their patients/the participants
• Strengthen the bond of solidarity among survivors and traumatized populations through their participation in music groups, forming peer-to-peer support mechanisms and promoting the emergence of group leaders
• Encourage continued contact with local staff and programs for after-care monitoring, evaluation and follow-up
• Open channels of communication with family members and traumatized/conflict-affected populations in reintegrating into their families and communities
• Combat stigma and helps reduce feelings of isolation
• Produce powerful messages for positive change to advocate across regions and cultures in the form of tangible and professionally-produced music that can also be a beacon for others in need of help
• Provide support, encouragement and mentoring to partners through an innovative community of practice, including therapists, researchers, music producers and humanitarian professionals, who are all focused on improving the psychosocial well being of traumatized and vulnerable populations

Make Music Matter works closely with local partners to integrate and adapt the Healing in Harmony program to the diverse needs of the participants. We also work with partner affiliate organizations to support the implementation of the program.

Maison Dorcas, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo

• Maison Dorcas at Panzi Hospital is an aftercare facility for survivors of gender-based violence. Women receive counseling for the treatment of trauma, as well as legal assistance and skill-based training to assist them in reintegrating their community and taking leadership roles.
• Target group: Survivors of sexual violence

One-Stop-Centre of Panzi Hospital, Mulamba, Democratic Republic of Congo

• Located two hours from Bukavu, this satellite clinic of Panzi Hospital provides support to a rural community where access to services is particularly limited.
• Target group: Survivors of sexual violence

Uyisenga Ni Manzi, Kigali, Rwanda

• Uyisenga Ni Manzi is a community centre offering holistic support to children and youth, with the aim to build resilience and affect change for sustainable development. It was established in 2002 in response to the high number of children and young adults who became orphans and heads of their households as a result of the Rwandan genocide and HIV/AIDS.
• Target group: Children of childhood-headed households and HIV survivors.

Global Survivor Network, The Mukwege Foundation, various locations

• The Mukwege Foundation supports a global network of survivors of sexual violence with national and international advocacy efforts. Three sites are supported through the foundation, in Guinea, South Africa, and Uganda.
• Target group: Survivors of sexual violence

Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo | World Vision DRC (affiliate site)

• Over two million people benefit from World Vision DRC’s transformational development programmes which address education, health care, water and sanitation, nutrition, and food security. They are also actively engaged in humanitarian and emergency response particularly in the eastern part of the country, focused on food aid, humanitarian protection, nutrition, health care, child friendly spaces (CFS), and reintegration of internal displaced people (IDPs). World Vision DRC was the first organization to partner with Make Music Matter as an affiliate through our social franchise framework.
• Target group: Survivors of forced sexual exploitation, ex-child combatants, and other survivors of trauma

SANAD, Gaziantep, Turkey

• SANAD is an independent, non-governmental organization formed to help Syrian refugees, families and children, as they escape the conflict. The word SANAD comes from the Arabic language, meaning support.
• Target group: Children with disabilities .

Along with the Panzi Foundation DRC, Make Music Matter commits to working with established health centres, community organizations, institutions, and other holistic programs to help implement the Healing in Harmony model. Find out how our affiliate partnerships work.