• 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

We work closely with local partners to adapt Healing in Harmony to the diverse needs of the community.

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. With support from the Fund for Innovation and Transformation, the program is expanding to integrate men and boys in the community, helping them to heal their own trauma and engaging them in efforts to advance gender equality.
• Target group: Survivors of sexual violence, men and boys in the community

Kasai, Democratic Republic of Congo | World Vision Canada

• As part of the Equality for Girls’ Access to Learning (EGAL) project funded by Global Affairs Canada, Make Music Matter has partnered with World Vision Canada to bring Healing in Harmony to the conflict-ridden region of Kasai.
• Target group: School-aged girls, young women, and caregivers who have experienced trauma including sexual and gender-based violence, and exploitation

Uyisenga Ni Imanzi, Kigali, Rwanda

• Uyisenga Ni Imanzi 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:
  • Guinea – Association des victimes Parents et Amis du 28 septembre 2009, Ratoma
  • South Africa – Survivors’ Empowerment for Self-sustainability and Holistic Healing in Africa (SESHHA), Pietermaritzburg
  • Uganda – Golden Women Vision in Uganda, Gulu
• Target group: Survivors of sexual and political violence

Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo | World Vision DRC 

• 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

SENED, Gaziantep, Turkey

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

Trujillo, Peru | World Vision Peru

• World Vision Peru supports children and adolescents, who often face violence and abuse of many kinds. As unemployment among young people is high, it promotes job training and life skills education, to make sure they’re supported into adulthood. World Vision Peru also assists Venezuelan migrants with basic services and works to help the two populations live harmoniously.
• Target group: Refugee youth and youth at risk

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.