Newport to Bethlehem journey will bring Christmas relief to Palestinian children
06-12-2010
Students and Lecturers from the University of Wales, Newport will be heading to Bethlehem this week to bring relief and support to socially and economically deprived Palestinian children.
Working at the SOS Children’s Village and School in Bethlehem, the team of five will use therapeutic art and music techniques to support the wellbeing and development of Palestinian children whose lives have been ravaged by poverty and war.
Hannah Davies from Rogerstone and Sian Williams from Cwmbran, 3rd year BA (Hons) Creative Therapies in Education students will be joined by their Programme Leader, Les Petrie and music therapist Liz Coombes. Tom Bond, a final year documentary photography student will also be going to create a photographic record of the trip.
Last year, Liz Coombes, who is a qualified music therapist, spent 6 weeks in Bethlehem - which lies in the West Bank - delivering a project aimed at training teachers and social workers in using music therapeutically. The trip has led to the creation of formal links between the University and organisations in Bethlehem which work to overcome the challenges faced by Palestinian children and young people.
Some of the group will stay within the SOS Children’s Village in Bethlehem, while others will be hosted by local Palestinian families.
Both Hannah and Sian are studying for a BA (Hons) in Creative Therapies in Education. The programme shows students how their specialist art, music or dance/movement art form can be used to work creatively & therapeutically with children and young people. Uniquely, the course focuses on creative and therapeutic work with small groups in a variety of educational and other settings.
Hannah Davies said: “This is an exciting but challenging opportunity to apply the skills we have learnt on this course. Despite being in a completely different environment, with young people who face horrific poverty and difficulties, the artistic and educational techniques we practice can provide improved wellbeing and relief as much as any where else in the world.”
Sian Williams said: “We will learn so much from this opportunity, about the effects of poverty and trauma and how our techniques can be used to alleviate them and provide some relief. We will have to be sensitive to the cultural differences, but ultimately people around the world react to the techniques in the same way and I’m delighted to have the opportunity to learn from the Palestinians and hopefully provide some support to them.”
Liz Coombes said: “Having been to the area before, I know how welcoming and friendly the local people are. It is wonderful that our students have the chance to put all the theory they have learnt into practice and really make a difference to some very vulnerable young people.”
Les Petrie said: “The Honours Degree in Creative Therapies in Education is going from strength to strength and now includes art, music and dance and movement. The difference that these techniques can make to the wellbeing of young people who have been through traumatic experiences are now widely recognised by government and health professionals. We are also developing postgraduate qualifications for 2011. The fact that Newport is leading the training on these techniques is testament to our desire to make a difference to the world.
