Projects & Programs - Middle East

Music bus goes Middle East

We train young Palestinian as music workshop leaders for children in camps and isolated villages in the West Bank. The Music Bus Goes Middle East replicates the successful Srebrenica Music Bus program in the refugee camps of Bethlehem.

We create music from anything, we create it from silence! We play music in complete freedom; we show the kids how to live.

Musicians without Borders trainee Naji, al-Azzeh camp, Bethlehem

Training program
Musicians without Borders works with a total of 23 trainee workshop leaders, young men and women from Bethlehem and the surrounding refugee camps. Four times a year, Musicians without Borders organizes training weeks in the West Bank, led by international workshop leaders. Between these training weeks, MwB’s Project Manager coaches the trainees as they practice with children in the camps, local kindergartens, children’s hospitals and orphanages. The trainees reach hundreds of children a year, singing, dancing, doing body percussion and playing games. A breath of fresh air in the stale, claustrophobic situation in the camps!



Investing in the next generation, and the next
The Music Bus Goes Middle East is a training program for young adults to work with children. Palestinian young people are given educational opportunities and gain professional experience, while the children are given a release from every day life in the camps.

Non-violent communication
At the request of Musicians without Borders, partner organization Holy Land Trust has organized training sessions in non-violent communication and conflict resolution. During the sessions, the trainees learn about communication, team work, dealing with conflict and stress management – vital tools for those growing up in an ongoing conflict. The nonviolent training is being integrated into the curriculum, and will become part of the MwB workshop leaders training program, wherever in the world.

More information
For more information, please contact Marijke Smedema at m.smedema@musicianswithoutborders.nl
visit our blog for pictures and stories www.musicbusgoespalestine.blogspot.com/  

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Middle East and any place where children suffer in the aftermath of war or oppression, the Music Bus serves as a model for permanent, self-sustaining, locally owned projects for healing, reconciliation and the development of young local talent.

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