"The missing piece for all of us"

In Amman it was the third time we worked with the team of Ruwwad. The trainees from the NGO Ruwwad offer community service for children and youth in exchange for a full scholarship for their studies. They work in Jabal Al Natheef, a marginalised urban area located in eastern Amman, home to the Mohammad Amin Camp, an informal Palestinian refugee site with an estimated population of 54,000. Jabal Al Natheef faces many challenges, notably high rates of youth unemployment, higher than average illiteracy rates, rising school dropout rates and the absence of vital services. 
Sounds of Change believes in the power of music in areas like Jabal al Natheef. Therefor we train the trainees of Ruwwad in using music in their work with children and youth from the community.

Sounds of Change trainer Han:
"We had such a wonderful week. I can clearly see how much they’ve learned from the previous two training levels. Being able to let creativity freely flow by always coming up with new and different sounds, ideas and approaches. We shared beautiful philosophical talks about the power of music and had honest personal talks about life in general. The week ended with the trainees leading a music workshop and an amazing and energetic concert with 40 children, using the songs they composed together in the training, body percussion and kazoo melodies… Did I mention that none of them are actual musicians?  
What an inspiring time…"

In this level 3 training we created a performance with the children from the community. It was designed by the trainees of Ruwwad, using instruments and music composed by the trainees and the children together. Their creativity and leadership skills developed immensely through this process. In a group conversation afterwards, the trainees describe their learning process and the impact on the community:
 
Hamzeh: “Compared to previous levels, it was easier for me to stand in front of the audience and the group. I felt relaxed enough to let it go, so ideas could come to me in the moment.” 
 
Enas: “This concert added to what Ruwwad already started in the community: to create a common culture, common music and common art. To make them understand that music is very important for the personal development. I saw how much the audience was impressed and surprised.”

Together they discuss the importance of these processes for the children, youth and their society:
 
Mustafa:“I think the children will learn to be more creative. They will have space and freedom to do what they want, instead of doing what’s been told all the time.” 

Mounib: “At first I was afraid to work with the adolescents, because before I only worked with the younger children. But when the adolescents started to use the instruments, they started to make a different rhythm, to create something. It’s a great feeling when they are focussing with you, when you are giving them a sound and they are working with you on it.

(…)

Our society is very judgmental, so the trick is to make the children feel brave to express themselves (…) It’s the missing piece for all of us. We didn’t have space to be ourselves when we were kids. Here we are given a space to be creative and to think outside the box.”