Proceedings, Oxford, UK (2002) - World Federation of Music Therapy

When its danger is drowning me
When my days are numbered
When I am coming closer to the end
Let me see you oh lord
And let me grow closer to you
Singing was very much part of the daily routine for nurses at the
Hospice- they would also sing in the community transport vehicle, and
sometimes with patients. This type of activity appeared to offer a great
spiritual and emotional support to the staff.
I also felt the singing, especially when witnessed or even when heard in
the background, could potentially benefit both ward and community
patients. When Aasgaard explores the concept of ‘music environmental
therapy’ he could easily be discussing the above:
‘Musical activities can create new relations between the participants…to
see authorities absorbed in some artistic or musical activity helps to
humanise the impression that patients and relatives have of those in
power’ (Aasgaard 1999)
Later in my visit, I was given a tour of the local orphanage run by
catholic nuns, the Thembalutha Children’s home. By now I had visited
aids patients in the poverty stricken rural areas, witnessed some very
distressing scenes which I will never forget, and felt very much like a
powerless observer. Using music therapy, as I understood it seemed to
me rather redundant when encountered with so many families coping
with the double bind of extreme poverty and an AIDS epidemic.
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