42km Marathon for Music Therapy - It Really Does Heal!

Recently I started a new job as a child support worker at a decile one school. The job couldn't have opened up for me at a better time. With music being my number one passion since i was born, it was time for me to refresh myself with something a little different.

The school is full of kids with so much potential, intelligence and who are the future of our country. For a lot of them they have had more than their fair share of hardship at home with their family. Often it is easy to overlook these situations and the disruption this causes to their learning and focus, which in turn can result in the whole class being disrupted at times. Without getting into too much detail, this is where I believe we should be tapping into music and the power it has to help grow the cognitive and emotional areas of the brain.

"In 2017, RMTC began a pilot paediatric music therapy programme, delivered by a music therapist in conjunction with staff and students from AUT’s School of Interprofessional Health at Onepoto Primary, a Decile 1 school on Auckland’s North Shore. School staff stated that almost all new entrants were starting school with socialization and learning deficits and that these challenges remained throughout the primary years. To meet this need, music therapy sessions were designed to encourage improved socialisation and increased engagement.

RMTC and its partners, now including Massey SLT students, expanded the programme in 2018 from one weekly group to two. 16 children attend music therapy with 14 of 16 being from Maori and/or Pasifika families. The programme continues to focus on children without a defined diagnosis, but whom school has identified as at risk for behavioural and learning challenges. These children do not have access to government funding available for those with diagnosed needs, making it impossible for their families to access specialist services. Music therapy reduces the chance of these children becoming isolated from activities that enhance their cognitive and emotional development."

On October the 28th I will be running my 2nd full Marathon, and it is my goal to raise funds for this new programme the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre are facilitating. Music keeps changing my life, and I know it will keep changing others too. Thank you for considering this cause and supporting this challenge.