An initial exploration of the therapeutic impact of music on genocide orphans in Rwanda

The 1994 Rwandan Genocide murdered over a million and brought on incalculable distress to survivors. An non-governmental organisation, Network for Africa, has a music programme to rehabilitate orphans in Kigali, now entering adulthood. This naturalistic study investigated whether music had transformational meaning for participants. Thirteen participants, (F = 7; M = 6) formed two brief focus groups to explore how music making changes them. Responses were audio recorded, analysed qualitatively by an iterative process to derive initial and then overarching themes. Three major themes emerged: music changes my past, music gives me a safe place in the present including fellowship and prayer and music provides me with personal resource to face an uncertain future. The themes resonate with cognitive therapy elements in managing post-traumatic problems, including grounding and processing the past. Implications of music making for traumatised communities are explored and recommendations made to identify the specific role of music making in a post-conflict, African population.