The Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA) is the recipient of three drums that have been donated to its Drum Therapy Project, which it has established in collaboration with the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA).

The drums were donated by the Canadian Women’s Club (CWC) and friends of Jamaica. The donation comprises two djembe drums and one bass drum. The items were presented to the VPA by Kathryn Villeneuve, president of the CWC, recently.

Professor Elizabeth Ward, chair of the VPA said that the drums will be delivered to the Granville Child Care Facility in Trelawny and the Homestead Place of Safety in St Andrew.

“The gifts are timely, and on behalf of the stakeholders of the project, we express our gratitude to the Canadian Women’s Club and friends of Jamaica for their support at this time. We thank you for your continued efforts in enriching the lives of our nation’s children,” she said.

Villeneuve said the organisation was happy to present the drums to the VPA’s Drum Therapy Project, which she expressed will have a positive impact on the wards of the State who are participating in the project.

“The Drum Therapy Project is a useful engagement for the wards of the State especially during the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.

The CWC is a non-profit organisation, consisting of Canadian women living in Jamaica. The organisation coordinates social events and various excursions and raises money for various causes such as buying materials for schools that are in dire need of supplies, as well as supporting other charitable organisations.

Professor Ward said the Drum Therapy Project is an initiative that arose out of the need to provide therapeutic outlets for wards of the State who are not only impacted by the circumstances that have brought them to these homes, but also the psychological effects of being confined during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Select caregivers from the facilities have received drum training from Jesse Golding, trained drummer from the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts. These trained caregivers have started sessions with the wards; each home has identified a schedule to reinforce lessons learnt from the initial training, and will be receiving intermittent follow-up sessions with the trainer.

Ann McNamee, a former member of the CWC, has been instrumental in the project’s development, where she established a GoFundMe account as a crowd-funding mechanism to support the outputs of the project. People can still donate to the project at the following link www.gofundme.com/f/vpa-amp-cpfsa039s-drum-therapy-project-in-jamaica .

The VPA and CPFSA recently produced ‘Music in the Homes’ on its Facebook page, which showcased the drumming skills of the wards in government child-care facilities, in celebration of International Peace Day on September 21, 2020.