Making Music to Enhance Mental Health in Eldoret, Kenya

After attending this session, participants will be appreciate the power of music and witness the level of engagement that street youth in a resource-limited country have as they unite behind a common goal. Street youth in Eldoret, Kenya are at a high risk of experiencing psychological conditions like Post-traumatic Stress Disorder with contributing factors including homelessness, an unstable family structure, and exposure to alcoholism and drug abuse in parent figures. Music therapy has shown benefits in children to alleviate and manage some of the symptoms of emotional disturbances. The goal was to create a sustainable music program in Eldoret, Kenya for at-risk street youth, providing a music experience as a means of support. The music experience program was developed to expose the children at the Tumaini Center in Eldoret, Kenya to traditional instruments, including keyboards, kayambas (flat African shaker instrument), maracas, drumsticks, and tambourines. The program consisted of instruction and experience sessions, which were at least an hour in length, that were held biweekly over the course of an eight week pharmacy rotation at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya. Sixteen boys ranging in age from eight to fourteen participated in eight music experience lessons at the Tumaini Center. Initial sessions focused on identifying which boys were most skillful at each instrument and subsequent sessions had the boys perform their most proficient instrument in a group setting. At the conclusion of the experience sessions after 8 weeks, the boys performed a small street concert in Eldoret to show what they had learned and demonstrate the impact of the Tumaini center on street youth. The implementation of a music experience program at the Tumaini Center allowed for a creative outlet for the boys and created an opportunity for the center to participate in community outreach in the process