Children of Fire

This is my third year working with children who have suffered extreme trauma due to abuse, shack fires, and children who are missing limbs and or part of their faces and children who are blind.

These children sometimes have nightmares as they relive their trauma.  One little boy showed his fear and depression through aggression. I have found that music has calmed him down. A month ago he could not stand or dance in a group as he felt confined (most likely due to being burnt in a fire). However, he is currently able to participate in Kindermusik within the group and I hope he is healing inside as well as outside.

I give them lunch or a treat every so often to give them a taste (pardon the pun) of something yummy.

Just like any other child, these children have dreams – big dreams. One of my little ones wants to be a doctor and is doing really well at school, but he has lost most of his fingers and his hands are badly scarred.

Another of my girls wants desperately to play in an orchestra, however, coming from an impoverished background her chances are slim – she is blind.

One of my children at this little boarding school (which is an old house) has learnt how to hold his instruments with deformed badly hands has and no fingers.

The other day I sat next to Dorah, South Africa’s worst burn survivor. (She cannot talk and suffered brain damage as a 7 month old baby being burnt in a shack fire. When I sat next to her on this particular day she put her arms around my neck and pulled me down to her level for comfort. I sang to her softly and after a time, she released me and sang to herself (without words). Music brought her comfort like nothing else could.

When the children see me, they come running for a hug and each little burnt and scarred face looks at me with such hope and joy that “Teacher Music” is here, that I keep going back even though it is far from where I live. Some of these children are orphans and need all the love they can get!

We have made a little Kindermusik corner for them and the teachers use the Kindermusik ABC Music and Me home materials in class.

Our Kindermusik Library
(The children also use a Braille workbook that I have made for them)
Not in this photograph.