The VPA is the recipient of drums and musical instruments that have been donated to its Drum Therapy Project, which it established in collaboration with the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA).
The drums were donated by the American Friends of Jamaica (AFJ), some of which were presented to the West Haven Children’s Home in Hanover, and the Salvation Army - Windsor Lodge in Manchester where the project is being implemented.
Jonelle Llewellyn, research associate at the VPA said that the donation has enabled the organisation to meet the project goals through allowing more wards of the state to be engaged.
“The donation is timely, and on behalf of the stakeholders of the project, we express our gratitude to the American Friends of Jamaica for their support. Having more instruments for the wards allows for greater participation and skill building - all while having fun. We thank them for their continued efforts in enriching the lives of our nation’s children,” she said.
The American Friends of Jamaica is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting Jamaican charitable organisations and social initiatives working to improve the lives of Jamaicans through systemic development in the areas of education, health care and economic development.
The Drum Therapy Project is an initiative that arose out of the need to provide therapeutic outlets for wards of the state who are not only impacted by the circumstances that have brought them to these homes, but also the psychological impacts of being confined during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Select caregivers from the facilities have received drum training from Jesse Golding, trained drummer from the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts. These trained caregivers have commenced sessions with the wards; each home has identified a schedule to reinforce lessons learnt from the initial training, and will be receiving intermittent follow up sessions with the trainer.
A GoFundMe account was established for the project as a crowd funding mechanism to support the outputs of the project. Persons can still donate to the project at the following link https://www.gofundme.com/f/vpa-amp-cpfsa039s-drum-therapy-project-in-jamaica .