ONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED FOUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES BENEFITED FROM THE MUSIC
The ninth group of SCHS employees to graduate from the music therapy program received congratulations from H.E. Mona Abdul Karim Al Yafei, general manager of Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS). She also expressed her congratulations to the specialists from the program's eleventh batch who came from the Korean University of Iowa. H.E. Mona Abdul Karim was incredibly proud of this accomplishment, which furthered SCHS's record of generosity and accomplishments.
According to international best practices, she stated, "SCHS places a high value on the sustainability of the services it offers to individuals with disabilities. The longevity of the Music Therapy Program, which SCHS has been running since 2013 in collaboration with the University of Iowa in South Korea, is a resounding endorsement of its strategy for long-term success”.
The SCHS director general recognizes the work done by SCHS employees and experts from the University of Iowa to offer the best services possible for those with disabilities. They put a lot of effort into improving their behavioral, linguistic, social, and motor skills. She emphasized that the staff's expertise over the years has benefited the variety of services offered to people with disabilities as well as the growth of their capabilities.
In her remarks, H.E. Ms. Mona Abdul Karim Al Yafei thanked the experts from the University of Iowa who have been a part of the program since its inception. The SCHS personnel, those who discussed their experiences dealing with people with impairments, and Prof. Hyang Joo Chung, Chair of the Department of Music Therapy at the University of Iowa, rank among them in importance. She hopes that collaboration and cooperation will continue in the future.
This happened in the ceremony organized by SCHS through the site WebEx on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, to graduate the ninth batch of Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services staff within the Music Therapy Program, and the twelfth batch of specializations from the South Korean University of Ewha.
As a result, 131 SCHS personnel have completed the music therapy program since it began in 2013. About 36 female postgraduate specialists from the University of Iowa received SCHS training. They altogether assisted in the education of 1,104 students with impairments. They attempted to improve their quality of life, involvement, and integration into society by fostering their motor, social, linguistic, and scholastic capacities.
Mrs. Khadija's Statement
Ms. Khadija Ahmed Bamakhramah, the General Supervisor of The Music Therapy Program and in charge of planning and follow-up at SCHS, gave the opening speech at the ceremony. She stated that the graduation of 15 staff members from SCHS within the ninth batch in the music therapy program, who were trained and qualified in knowing the methodologies and basics of the program, is evidence of the SCHS's keenness to keep up with the best methodologies and technology. The program aims to improve the talents and competencies of students with disabilities.
Our gathering today is an accomplishment that started eleven years ago. It adds to the accomplishments of SCHS, she remarked. It provides an overview of the success, sustainability of the music therapy program, as the program’s success went beyond just applying to students at SCHS, and qualifying staff; it involved getting six graduates from SCHS staff to earn their music therapy certificates accredited by the University of Iowa and the Korean Music Therapy Education Association. It presented the SCHS's experience using the Music Therapy Program at numerous conferences, seminars, and forums both inside and beyond the nation. Twenty introduction and recreational workshops for staff members and mothers were also organized to introduce the music therapy program and relieve stress. In addition to organizing ten music therapy sessions for the public. It aimed of introducing music therapy to participate in the annual festivals and events held in the Emirate of Sharjah, including the festival that shines with its activities.
Bamakhramah expressed her profound gratitude and appreciation to SCHS President Her Excellency Sheikha Jamila bint Muhammad Al Qasimi. Her Excellency Sheikha Jamila continues to be a supporter of all worthwhile endeavors, and offers her invaluable counsel and direction to everybody, which has contributed to the success of the SCHS music therapy program and ensured its viability to assist those with disabilities.
The team at the University of Iowa in South Korea, lead by Prof. Hyang Joo Chung, Head of the Department of Music Therapy at the University Distinguished Cooperation and supervision in the execution and success of the program in the SCHS, was also thanked by the speaker. For her ongoing support and dedication to the success of the music therapy program, Her Excellency Ms. Mona Abdul Karim Al-Yafei, Director General of SCHS, and the experts from the University of Iowa Elaine, Lily, Kong, and Hen received special gratitude.
Professor Joe's Statement
After that, Professor Hyang Joo Chung, the head of the University of Iowa's Music Therapy Department, gave a speech in which she offered her congratulations to the newly graduated teachers and praised them for their tremendous effort in maintaining a balance between their training and primary profession.
She also praised the fact that six music therapists from the SCHS staff received certification as music therapists from the Korean Music Therapy Education Association. This is a very significant development because the six of them will be the first recognized music therapists in the Arab world as well as the United Arab Emirates.
She added that we are born with the innate ability to express ourselves via music. Since we were fetuses in our mothers' wombs listening to the rhythm of their hearts pounding, when we grow up, our voice turns into the melody. As a result, music is employed to enhance practical abilities. Our intrinsic desire for musical behavior is what gives life its quality.
Alumni speech
After afterwards, on behalf of SCHS graduates, Ms. Rayan Al-Zeyoudi spoke. She made a point of highlighting how the music therapy program gave her and her coworkers the chance to learn and hone their abilities in using music in all of its physical, emotional, mental, social, and linguistic aspects to improve students' competence, develop their goals, and strive to raise their level of performance..
"We found that the strategies in which music therapy was used were a new methodology in the training process," she stated. Because of the many advantages it generated from the activities, in addition to the favorable educational environment that was created by breaking the daily routine and deviating from the traditional pattern of the usual work plan, it achieved remarkable benefit for the students and at the same time received high praise from the graduates.
The majority of the pupils expressed appreciation for the lessons and a want to study more, she continued. The use of the sessions and their use in the classroom as a way to enrich and strengthen educational approaches in the music therapy program are being followed up on with great anticipation for the future.
In conclusion, she extended her deepest thanks and gratitude to Her Excellency Sheikha Jamila bint Muhammad Al Qasimi, President of the SCHS, for her constant and continuous support for the students and the educational staff. She also thanked Mona Abdul Karim, SCHS General Manager, for her permanent support and guidance. Special thanks went to Ms. Khadija Ahmed Bamakhramah, General Supervisor of the Music Therapy Program, for her keenness, constant follow-up, sincere and constructive efforts throughout the training period, and for providing sound support and guidance in the success of the Music Therapy Program. She also expressed her gratitude to Professor Jo, Iowa Women's University, the Korean Association for Music Therapy in South Korea, and the Korean specialist trainers Hyung Kun and Haen Ryu for the training and the chance to be selected for the Music Therapy Program.
A recording of the music therapy sessions, evaluation notes for the work they completed during the training period, and the remarkable growth in the students' skills and abilities during the application of the sessions were all included in the performances the graduates gave during the graduation ceremony.