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| Magoso school in Nairobi’s Kibera slum hits the right note with music that heals | |
| (5 days later) | |
| The yard at Magoso school is bordered by high walls decorated with paintings of Scooby-Doo and Bob Marley. Today, under a blazing morning sun, it is packed with hundreds of children singing and clapping to the beat of drums. A group of teenage girls clear a space in the crowd, and begin to recite a poem in English. | The yard at Magoso school is bordered by high walls decorated with paintings of Scooby-Doo and Bob Marley. Today, under a blazing morning sun, it is packed with hundreds of children singing and clapping to the beat of drums. A group of teenage girls clear a space in the crowd, and begin to recite a poem in English. |
| As part of its mission, the school in Kibera runs programmes on poetry, drumming, gospel singing and acrobatics to combat anxiety and help children to overcome their experiences of violence. | As part of its mission, the school in Kibera runs programmes on poetry, drumming, gospel singing and acrobatics to combat anxiety and help children to overcome their experiences of violence. |
| “Sometimes, you see the children come in the morning. You look at them and they are sad,” says Lilian Wangala, who founded Magoso in 1998. “But when they start singing, everybody gets excited. They start dancing and laughing. I think it’s the best medicine to give the children.” | “Sometimes, you see the children come in the morning. You look at them and they are sad,” says Lilian Wangala, who founded Magoso in 1998. “But when they start singing, everybody gets excited. They start dancing and laughing. I think it’s the best medicine to give the children.” |
| One of the largest schools serving Nairobi’s Kibera slum, Magoso has grown from 20 students to 587. | One of the largest schools serving Nairobi’s Kibera slum, Magoso has grown from 20 students to 587. |
| Wangala set up the school using money she had raised selling shirts by the train tracks that run through Kibera. | Wangala set up the school using money she had raised selling shirts by the train tracks that run through Kibera. |
| Wangala was inspired to open the school by her own struggles to support her family, and the knowledge that in Kibera many destitute children were turning to prostitution and theft to survive. She is the eldest in a family of 19 brothers and sisters and her parents died when she was 20. | Wangala was inspired to open the school by her own struggles to support her family, and the knowledge that in Kibera many destitute children were turning to prostitution and theft to survive. She is the eldest in a family of 19 brothers and sisters and her parents died when she was 20. |
| To pay the salaries of the school’s 21 teachers, Wangala now sells handmade bags and clothes to donors, tourists and visitors to the school, which receives food from the World Food Programme. Other costs are paid through fundraising or donors, particularly from Japan; Wangala made connections with many Japanese visitors to Nairobi in her previous work for a tour company. | To pay the salaries of the school’s 21 teachers, Wangala now sells handmade bags and clothes to donors, tourists and visitors to the school, which receives food from the World Food Programme. Other costs are paid through fundraising or donors, particularly from Japan; Wangala made connections with many Japanese visitors to Nairobi in her previous work for a tour company. |
| Wangala attributes the popularity of the school to the fact that there are no fees, as well as its approach to teaching art and music. | Wangala attributes the popularity of the school to the fact that there are no fees, as well as its approach to teaching art and music. |
| The music and dance sessions, held every morning, are the closest most Kenyans come to formalised music therapy. | The music and dance sessions, held every morning, are the closest most Kenyans come to formalised music therapy. |
| The school is so popular now that Wangala cannot accept any more pupils. Most of the children are orphans, and used to live on the streets or work as home helps. Sixty children are currently housed by the school. | The school is so popular now that Wangala cannot accept any more pupils. Most of the children are orphans, and used to live on the streets or work as home helps. Sixty children are currently housed by the school. |
| While music therapy is widely recognised as a professional field in some countries, it has yet to gain ground in Kenya, despite the overwhelming importance of music in local culture. | While music therapy is widely recognised as a professional field in some countries, it has yet to gain ground in Kenya, despite the overwhelming importance of music in local culture. |
| The University of Pretoria is the only university in Africa offering music therapy as a master’s study programme. | The University of Pretoria is the only university in Africa offering music therapy as a master’s study programme. |
| “It’s a shame that many educational institutions haven’t embraced music therapy, partly from a lack of knowledge about it from a scientific standpoint,” said Professor David Akombo, director of music education at Jackson State University in Mississippi and one of the few scholars worldwide researching the link between music and therapeutic practice in Kenya. | “It’s a shame that many educational institutions haven’t embraced music therapy, partly from a lack of knowledge about it from a scientific standpoint,” said Professor David Akombo, director of music education at Jackson State University in Mississippi and one of the few scholars worldwide researching the link between music and therapeutic practice in Kenya. |
| “Music and healing is an old tradition practised in Africa for millennia; it makes sense for it to be revised with modern scientific methods.” | “Music and healing is an old tradition practised in Africa for millennia; it makes sense for it to be revised with modern scientific methods.” |
| Musicians in rural Kenya frequently perform for the sick on an informal basis, according to Akombo. In Nairobi, however, this practice has become almost non-existent. Professor Akombo says conventional government-run hospitals do not recognise the value of complementary medical practices like music therapy, particularly in treating mental health issues. | Musicians in rural Kenya frequently perform for the sick on an informal basis, according to Akombo. In Nairobi, however, this practice has become almost non-existent. Professor Akombo says conventional government-run hospitals do not recognise the value of complementary medical practices like music therapy, particularly in treating mental health issues. |
| “Mental illness is a growing health problem in Kenya, and research continues to show that music therapy can help to change that. The government needs to invest in producing more music therapists who can help victims of social upheaval – especially children, who are led into crime, drug addiction and suicide.” | “Mental illness is a growing health problem in Kenya, and research continues to show that music therapy can help to change that. The government needs to invest in producing more music therapists who can help victims of social upheaval – especially children, who are led into crime, drug addiction and suicide.” |
| In Magoso, budding musicians are gaining the skills they need to push the music therapy agenda when they leave school. One of these is Antony Mwangu, who lived on the streets for three years in Kibera, facing hunger and gang violence every day. | In Magoso, budding musicians are gaining the skills they need to push the music therapy agenda when they leave school. One of these is Antony Mwangu, who lived on the streets for three years in Kibera, facing hunger and gang violence every day. |
| The turning point for him came after he witnessed the killing of seven other street children at the hands of the police. He was just a teenager. | The turning point for him came after he witnessed the killing of seven other street children at the hands of the police. He was just a teenager. |
| Wangala found Mwangu afterwards: he was in a field close to where her students were hosting a drum performance. | Wangala found Mwangu afterwards: he was in a field close to where her students were hosting a drum performance. |
| “That was like his home, a field. He was one of the street boys. Then he came to me and asked me, ‘can I come to your school?’ I told him, ‘It is OK, you can come to my school any time you want’.” | “That was like his home, a field. He was one of the street boys. Then he came to me and asked me, ‘can I come to your school?’ I told him, ‘It is OK, you can come to my school any time you want’.” |
| Now 21, Mwangu works as an informal music therapist at Nairobi’s Faraja cancer clinic, and at the Nest, a rehabilitation centre for the children of imprisoned mothers. | Now 21, Mwangu works as an informal music therapist at Nairobi’s Faraja cancer clinic, and at the Nest, a rehabilitation centre for the children of imprisoned mothers. |
| “When people asked about my story before, I used to cry when I was telling them. But now I can narrate my story when laughing. I believe that through music, I’ll be able to transform society and even help other upcoming artists get to the next level.” | “When people asked about my story before, I used to cry when I was telling them. But now I can narrate my story when laughing. I believe that through music, I’ll be able to transform society and even help other upcoming artists get to the next level.” |
| Magoso’s musical students are known across Kenya. Last year, the school’s gospel choir and string band both won first place in different categories at Kenya’s national music festival. | Magoso’s musical students are known across Kenya. Last year, the school’s gospel choir and string band both won first place in different categories at Kenya’s national music festival. |
| Daniel Ochieng, the principal, says: “We have become a role model to schools in Kenya, and a lot of times the government talks about Magoso as a school that excels in music.” | Daniel Ochieng, the principal, says: “We have become a role model to schools in Kenya, and a lot of times the government talks about Magoso as a school that excels in music.” |
| Wangala faces many challenges, and there’s the ever-present threat of slum demolition by the authorities. | Wangala faces many challenges, and there’s the ever-present threat of slum demolition by the authorities. |
| Her main Japanese donor recently died, and in December, the school was severely damaged in a fire, which killed a staff member. Much of its computer equipment was also looted after the fire. | Her main Japanese donor recently died, and in December, the school was severely damaged in a fire, which killed a staff member. Much of its computer equipment was also looted after the fire. |
| But she refuses to abandon her dream of seeing Kibera’s children prosper through music. “It is in me,” she says. “I love music, and I’ve seen it can change somebody’s life. Even if there is struggle, this is what I have to do.” | But she refuses to abandon her dream of seeing Kibera’s children prosper through music. “It is in me,” she says. “I love music, and I’ve seen it can change somebody’s life. Even if there is struggle, this is what I have to do.” |