A GOOD START OF 2018!
In our previous Newsletter, we spoke about our future musical plans. Meanwhile, six weeks have passed and we can tell you that Dutch music therapist Lore Smits will join our team of five Greek music teachers next week.
Lore will support the regular teachers team for five months. She graduated from the Enschede
conservatory in the Netherlands and has since gained valuable experience in working with children in unusual circumstances. She spent six months in the South American slums for instance. In addition to Lore, several music therapy students will support the music teachers on Lesbos in the coming five months. We will introduce them to you soon.
In January, Iliaktida asked Connect by Music to start up two new projects on Lesbos.
We will of course keep you up to date on these projects.
The Safe Zone
The first project is located in what is called the Safe Zone, which is outside the Moria refugee camp. Eighty children aged between 0 and 18 years will be staying here under Iliaktida’s guidance. These children are minors who arrived at Lesvos unaccompanied by their parents or family members. Here they are safe and they can go to school. Connect by Music offers them music lessons for two hours a day, five days a week after school. This project was launched recently.
Unicef – Iliaktida day care
In early March, Iliaktida plans to start a new project in Larsos (Lesbos) in cooperation with Unicef and Better Days.
Approximately two hundred mothers and their children can join various activities at the day care centre during the day.
They are all from the Moria camp. A bus will drive them from the camp to the day care centre and back.
There are now over five thousand people staying at the Moria camp. To accommodate as many mothers and children as possible, the day care centre will work with morning and afternoon groups. Connect by Music will start with an adjusted music programme, of which our music therapists will be part. For the mothers it is essential that they are taught by women, and we will of course take their wishes to heart. In this way, we will create a safe environment where everyone will be free to enjoy the music and each other’s company.
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