MAKE MUSIC MATTER ANNUAL REPORT 2015 // 01 · MAKE MUSIC MATTER ANNUAL REPORT 2015 // 03 In our inaugural Annual Report, we are celebrating the ... This ideology extends into our

MAKE MUSIC MATTER ANNUAL REPORT 2015 // 01


In our inaugural Annual Report, we are celebrating the healing power of music to re-stitch the soul and transform communities, regardless of prevailing circumstance. Whether it is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda or Canada, Make Music Matter is using the medium of art to generate growth in the fields of human rights and international development, fostering change and breaking negative cycles.

The year 2015 was a culminating year for Make Music Matter. We saw the full-time launch of our Music Enrichment Program at the Panzi Hospital in the DRC, partnering with Panzi Foundation USA and Panzi Foundation DRC. This program uses our specialized brand of music therapy to help patients and their communities recover, reintegrate, and secure their rights for the future. To date, the results have shown staggering and encouraging reduction in PTSD, trauma and depression. Among these statistics, we must not lose sight of individuals and their stories.

In September, we organized our first community concert from our music therapy program at Panzi (DRC). The concert was an incredible success, with performances by survivors of sexual violence, vulnerable women, their children, and staff. One participant was a 16 year-old survivor, who, at such a young age, has had two children born of rape. One child lives with her grandmother in her home village, while the youngest, approximately 1 year old, lives with survivors at Panzi’s aftercare facility, Maison Dorcas. This innocent child serves as a constant reminder of the horror and trauma endured by his mother and has resulted in her constant rejection, offering her child very little attention and care. After the young mother participated in the Music Enrichment Program and subsequent community concert, her behavior towards her son began to shift. She was so overjoyed by the response of the crowd that she lovingly picked him up and began kissing her baby. This embrace was the first time that she demonstrated an attachment to her child and is a remarkable example of the healing power of music.

This holistic approach to the protection of youth is also at the core of our new partnership with War Child Canada and potential joint project in the North and South Kivu areas of the DRC, beginning in 2016. We are also working towards delivering similar programming in Canada, providing support to survivors of sexual violence in Indigenous communities, and implementing therapeutic and preventative measures for healing from the grassroots level.

We at Make Music Matter feel that public education and engagement are cornerstones to a brighter future. In educating the Canadian public, we can empower empathic and symbiotic relationships between Canadians and our beneficiaries overseas, fostering long-term community growth and support.

In March of 2014, we brought Nobel Peace Prize Nominee and Founder of Panzi Hospital, Dr. Denis Mukwege, to Manitoba for the very first time, engaging in a series of successful public events. A major highlight was the culminating evening at Winnipeg’s prestigious Pantages Playhouse Theatre, including a keynote from Dr. Mukwege and a panel discussion on the DRC along with former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, Founder of War Child Canada, Dr. Samantha Nutt, and Lieutenant-General (Ret’d), Romeo Dallaire. This unforgettable commemoration of dialogue

FRIENDS OF MAKE MUSIC MATTER The recognition of an individual’s voice, where emotions and feelings can be validated and heard, rests at the core of a healthy and thriving community. As a mother’s heartbeat is felt in the womb, like the pulse of a drum, we are connected to music from our very beginning. The simple combination of notes, tones, and lyrics connect us to emotions we can so rarely express and can deepen our understanding of memories and experiences that haunt us or are long forgotten.

and advocacy ended with a performance by legendary Canadian musician, Jim Cuddy, with special guests Ian D’Sa (Billy Talent) and Cone McCaslin (Sum 41).

Through our My Song for Change contest, Make Music Matter gave young people in Canada the opportunity to share their music, shedding a light on global issues and the pressures they face. After two successful years, we look forward to exploring more possibilities that will encourage musical self-expression from Canadian youth in order to inspire positive change.

While 2015 was a breakout year for Make Music Matter, we look forward to leveraging these successes to expand our programming outreach, continue to increase capacity through local partnerships aimed at strengthening civil society, and deepen the dissemination channels for our produced music as technologies democratize.

The first Make Music Matter Annual Report is a homage to our dedicated overseas staff, volunteers and board of directors who selflessly work to create the space and opportunity for our artists.

May the year 2016 be limited only by our vision and imagination.

Darcy Ataman (CEO & Founder) Jit Lahiry (Chair)

This ideology extends into our Rwanda project site. We are expanding its capacity, beyond our HIV prevention mandate, to additionally aid in reducing trauma of children in child-headed households in the community with local partner Uyisenga N’Manzi.


MISSIONMake Music Matter engages, educates and fosters the youth living in African communities affected by extreme poverty through music and socially conscious art creating future community leaders.

VISIONMake Music Matter will be a leading and accountable philanthropic field programming organization that provides development assistance through education. These efforts will raise awareness on some of Africa’s most urgent developmental issues such as HIV/AIDS and child rights through the vector of music and music production. The result of which will contribute to sustainable change both domestically and internationally.

VALUESMake Music Matter is apolitical and secular and focuses on humanitarianism, universality, accountability, and innovation.

OUR VISION, MISSION AND VALUES


HEALING THROUGH MUSIC

In effect, the MEP participants teach each other by sharing their experiences. After sharing their stories and establishing common ground, MEP participants are encouraged to make positive choices about their individual futures and engage in cooperative music-making and performance.

One of our objectives is to foster leadership skills that will empower participants in their process of healing, and encourage them to share what they have learned with their friends and families. This will ultimately result in lasting, measurable change in their families and communities.Music created by participants is also used as a tool for education within the larger community. With the help of local musicians, MEP songs are professionally recorded, collected, and disseminated back to the local communities through hard copies and over local radio stations as advocacy and prevention tools. Live performances and digital distribution also ensure the MEP’s messages are accessible, and spread easily.

Because the MEP targets the issues facing individual communities, it can be as diverse and adaptable as music itself. The social isolation experienced by each of these populations serviced through the MEP often directly contributes to a deterioration of physical and emotional well-being. Make Music Matter has actively engaged youth in extreme poverty in Rwanda and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, children, and vulnerable populations in the DRC.

“I was such a sad and unhappy person, but when I went to the studio and started to sing, I feel happy and rejoice with other persons there.”

Engagement with others and with their own creativity works as a tool for rehabilitation, therapy and personal development. By working together, participants develop leadership and group work skills, while building self-confidence and a sense of identity.

Make Music Matter’s Music Enrichment Program (MEP) was developed through a pilot project in Rwanda in 2009. This format offers participants the opportunity to discuss the challenges and issues confronting them, their families and the wider community.


WHY MUSIC?

WHERE WE WORK MUSIC CHANGES LIVESMusic is a tool that can address the social and emotional needs of a population. Not only does Make Music Matter help people to deal with the trauma they’ve experienced by writing, singing, and recording songs, but we bring them together so they know they’re not alone.

MUSIC WORKSWhether it is former child combatants, survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, or victims of HIV/AIDS, music is a channel for expression for those otherwise incapable of expressing the heartache of their experience. Many studies have demonstrated the impact that this can have. Betancourt et al (2010), for example, found that particularly in the context of conflict, programs like the MEP helped to ensure that survivors received the support they needed from their communities, and enabled them to better reintegrate.

MUSIC IS A POWERFUL EDUCATIONAL TOOLNot only is making music a starting point for education and therapeutic conversations, it is also a versatile teaching medium. Historically, music, storytelling, and dance have all been used to transmit information from one generation to the next.

Songs released through the Panzi Hospital reach a listenership of five million people through the combined audience of the two primary radio stations disseminating our songs in Bukavu, DRC.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO SITE:

Maison Dorcas, Panzi Hospital Bukavu, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo

RWANDA SITE:

Uyisenga N’Manzi Peace Centre Rwamagana District, Eastern Province Rwanda

MUSIC IS INCLUSIVEMusic is the cornerstone of our programming because it engages everyone. Whether a person participates in active music-making, or even just listens, the experience is beneficial. The message of a song has an impact wherever it is heard, reaching many people beyond its creators.

MUSIC IS FAR-REACHINGIn areas where literacy rates are low, music is an effective way to inform, and raise awareness. When the songs our participants create play on the radio, victims’ voices reach beyond their homes to large audiences, and challenge listeners to change the world in which they live.

MUSIC IS OUR EXPERTISEMake Music Matter fuses international development expertise with some of the greatest minds and talents in the music industry. Capitalizing on our strengths and building on our successes is essential to the effectiveness and sustainability of our work.

Music has always helped people around the world to overcome hardship by providing comfort and consolation, and by helping them to directly address the most divisive issues facing their communities. Through our efforts, music also contributes to the prevention of violence and public health issues, and to raising awareness.


In Rwanda, MMM’s Music Enrichment Program runs on a four-month cycle and directly engages and educates youth affected by extreme poverty. The program aims at educating youth and the larger community through song about the health risks of contracting and steps to preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

By embracing healing through music, the artists who create, express and share their pain are in turn able to impact change within themselves and the larger community.

RAISING VOICES AND LIFTING LIVES THROUGH MUSIC IN RWANDA

Over 70 youth from across Rwanda participated in the pilot project. Local educators guided the interactive training and health education sessions while local and visiting artists facilitated the creation of music. Songs were recorded and disseminated to local communities and used as outreach tools on local radio and elsewhere, spreading positive health messages and working towards breaking the cycle of stigma. Building on the success of the pilot program in Rwanda, MMM began working with Uyisenga N’Manzi in December 2013 until July 2014.

At Panzi Hospital’s after-care facility, Maison Dorcas, music is helping survivors of sexual violence, vulnerable women, and children by helping them connect with and heal from their past experiences and traumas – and create profound beauty and art in the process.

Working in tandem with our program’s staff psychologist and music producer, Make Music Matter goes beyond traditional music therapy techniques, such as orchestration, songwriting and performance in helping patients connect with their emotions and work within their therapeutic process towards healing. In the state-of-the-art recording studio built on site of Maison Dorcas, our program recognizes our participants as artists, not patients. Their end product is a professionally recorded and produced song, which is ready to share with their communities, fellow survivors and the wider public.

The program will also help to reduce trauma within the context of a post-conflict environment. In its initial sessions, Make Music Matter has found a need to focus its work in Rwanda on child-headed households and on dealing more directly with trauma, PTSD and emotional well-being in addition to its focus on health education.In baseline research, 41.8% of interview participants believed that it was difficult to talk about HIV/AIDS. In the case of one father discussing HIV/AIDS, he stated, “It is easy for the community to talk about it, but if you’re HIV positive you cannot for fear of being stigmatized.” The MEP has allowed youth in the program to produce songs aimed at educating on HIV prevention, along with a focus on reduction of stigma associated with being HIV positive. These songs have reached far beyond Rwamagana through the dissemination of produced songs on popular radio stations in Kigali, Radio Isango Star 91.5 FM, KFM 98.7 FM, and Radio 10 87.6 FM. MMM and Uyisenga N’Manzi continue to work together to impact positive change among participants of the program and the larger community through the community concerts and dissemination of songs on many popular radio stations.

Make Music Matter is excited to announce that through the generous funding of the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation (MCIC), the Rwanda site will continue to expand its MEP work with youth.

The Music Enrichment Program (MEP), the focus of Make Music Matter’s development work, kicked off in the fall of 2009.

In collaboration with the Panzi Hospital & Foundations and with the support of the ELRHA and its Humanitarian Innovation Fund, Make Music Matter brought its Music Enrichment Program model to the Panzi Hospital beginning in February 2015 with partners Panzi Foundation USA and Panzi Foundation DRC.

In a comparison of rates of anxiety, depression, and PTSD for our pilot data among participants beginning and completing the first three-month session, the majority saw a significant reduction in both PTSD and anxiety. In line with its dissemination strategy, a community concert was held after the completion of the first session. Over 300 Panzi staff, community members, and outside NGO colleagues attended in September 2015 with great success. Artists from each participant category (survivors, vulnerable women, and children) performed their songs, had the attendees on their feet and dancing and were awarded many requests for an encore.

The first cycle of programming has produced a full album, released not only on partner websites, but also on popular radio stations in Bukavu, reaching a large portion of South Kivu. The dissemination of songs on radio open up the larger community to the trauma and healing of women in the eastern Congo, working to reduce the stigma associated with sexual violence against women. In the case of more than one participant, their husbands who had previously rejected them after their rapes heard the song on the radio and have begun the process of attempting reconciliation with their wives.

Make Music Matter is proud to be able to impact such positive change at Panzi Hospital and its surrounding community and continues to develop and improve its programming to have greatest outreach.

MY BODY IS NOT A WEAPON – HEALING TRAUMA IN THE DRC

PARCE QUE J’AI MAL

BECAUSE I’M IN PAIN

Chaque jour de ma vie Je me sens trahi par mon image

Chaque fois quand je me regarde Dans un miroir je perds espoir

Il y a tant de larmes qui ont coulés sous mes joues chaque soir

J’ai peur du noir J’ai peur d’être seule sur une route pave d’imprévus

R/ Alors je me noie, noie, noie noie seul Je me cache loin, loin de tout Parce que j’ai peur.

Et souvent je voile ma souffrance par un rire ou par un sourire

Et si vous saviez combien je souffre A cause de mes souvenirs

Je ne vois plus d’avenir Et quand je parle de ma vie Je ne vois que des sourds qui m’entourent

Comment oublier Comment advancer Comment stopper tous ces viols

R/ Alors je me noie, noie, noie noie seul Je me cache loin, loin de tout Parce que j’ai mal

Each time When I look myself in the mirror I lose faith

Each night So many tears have flowed down my cheeks

I’m afraid of the dark I’m afraid to be alone on the road paved with the unexpected.

So I drown, drown, drown myself I hide faraway, from everything because I’m afraid

And I often buckle my suffering with a laugh or a smile

And if you knew how much I’m suffering because of my memories

I don’t have faith in the future And when I talk about my life I only feel the deafness around me

How to forget How to move on How to stop rapes Everywhere

So I drown, drown, drown myself I hide faraway from everything because I’m in pain

—Artists: Solange, Sandra, Pascaline, Irene (Group: Jeune Dorcas, Producer: Jojo) – Debut song from Panzi Hospital program


Spiritual

Psychological

Physical

HOLISTIC APPROACH TO HEALING


EDUCATION AND AWARENESS IN CANADA

The Order is the highest honour the province can bestow on individuals who demonstrate outstanding skills in the areas of leadership, service, and community commitment. In addition, Dr. Lloyd Axworthy bestowed an honourary Doctorate of Laws upon Dr. Mukwege from the University of Winnipeg in recognition of his dedication to bringing peace to the DRC and to heal victims of SGBV since the founding of Panzi Hospital in 1999.

Dr. Mukwege also spoke with students, academics, and the public at both the University of Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba, including a lecture to medical students and faculty, on SGBV in the DRC and the impact of SGBV in the eastern Congo. These talks included local Congolese community members and enlightened many attendees to the struggles and resilience of women in the Congo and the need for the global community to stand with the women of Panzi Hospital.

In joining with its passion for the arts, Make Music Matter brought a full house of Winnipeg arts community members to meet Dr. Mukwege at the Graffiti Art Gallery for a musical evening

honouring the women of the DRC, including a presentation from former Governor General the Right Honourable Michäelle Jean and Panzi Foundation USA. The final event brought together over 1100 attendees for an evening of dialogue and music at the Pantages Playhouse Theatre to raise awareness and funds for the Panzi Hospital. The event was a great success and combined the collective experience and knowledge of Dr. Samantha Nutt of War Child Canada, Lieutenant-General (Ret’d) Roméo Dallaire, Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, and Dorothée Kabali Tokunda, a local Congolese woman, with a keynote from Dr. Mukwege. The aptly named event, Right Her Future (Une voie pour leur avenir), brought context to the conflict in the DRC and the use of rape as a weapon of war. Included was a call to action to support the immense work the Panzi Hospital is doing to heal, rehabilitate and reintegrate survivors of sexual violence back into their communities. The benefit concert featured musical performances from members of the Congolese community, Canadian musicians Jim Cuddy (Blue Rodeo), Ian D’Sa (Billy Talent), and Cone McCaslin (Sum 41).

The week of events tied in with the Juno Awards week in Manitoba and elevated the status of Make Music Matter in Manitoba with key stakeholders and government officials. Make Music Matter was able to leverage this visit to recruit long-term advocates and volunteers to support its programming and the ongoing need for a vocal global community in respect to the women of the DRC.

*special thanks to Christine Melnick and the RHF volunteers”

“Integrating holistic, psychosocial therapeutic methods with music is creating a breakthrough in the healing process. The patients are transformed, becoming artists. Their songs bring joy where once there was total despair. Through this music therapy program, and the many other services we provide, the women and girls are finding their voices. And that is true freedom.”

– Dr. Denis Mukwege, PhD

In March 2014, Make Music Matter had the honour and privilege of hosting Nobel Prize nominee and founder of Panzi Hospital and Foundations, Dr. Denis Mukwege, for a series of events in Manitoba to educate the public about the impacts of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to provide the public with ways in which they could make a quantifiable difference in what has been deemed the worst place in the world to be a woman.

The week of events began with bestowing the Order of the Buffalo Hunt upon Dr. Mukwege at the Manitoba Legislative Assembly in recognition of his work treating victims of sexual violence.


MY SONG FOR CHANGE

Sponsored by Western Union Canada, the first year of the My Song for Change contest in 2013 saw 257 songs submitted for consideration, along with over 118,000 visits on the web page, showing a great interest and involvement in the contest. In the first year, the contest gained great public support through appearances on the show George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight. The second year of the My Song for Change contest built on the successes of the previous year and continued to offer a meaningful opportunity to Canadian musicians to use their art to inspire and connect. In 2014, Make Music Matter partnered with Juno Award-winning rocker Sam Roberts (Sam Roberts Band), Cone McCaslin (Sum 41), Hill Kourkoutis (Serena Ryder), Sekou Lumumba (Serena Ryder) and Grammy Award-winning producer David Bottrill to produce Fire from the Spark by Matt Blais.

Western Union Canada sponsored the inaugural two years of the contest that seeks to leverage the power of music to educate, connect, transform and enrich people’s lives.

“Creating music is not only a means of expression, it can be a powerful forum to convey global nature of Canadians’ experiences, and their ties to every corner of the world”

– Jocelyn David, Director of Marketing, Western Union Canada

In line with its work to educate and engage Canadians as active members of a global community, Make Music Matter has implemented a contest aimed at Canadian youth artists.

The winner then had their song and accompanied video produced in a professional recording studio, along with Canadian musicians.

The My Song for Change contest sought participants to submit an original musical performance focusing on the global issues they face in tandem with others around the world. An online voting system was used to determine the top ten finalists and an expert panel selected the winner. The panel then judged entries based upon lyrical creativity, melody, song structure and dynamics, and relevance to the contest’s theme.


In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Make Music Matter is in the process of expanding programming to include rural areas in South Kivu at Panzi Hospital’s outreach hospital/health centres. MMM has already undergone a testing phase in Mulamba with 25 community members. This session was met with great interest and success and was supported largely by the husbands of the women involved.

In addition to the Panzi Hospital-associated program in the DRC, War Child Canada is partnering with Make Music Matter to potentially implement a child and youth-based program in South and North Kivu. This program will aim at preventing violence and protecting children and youth in the area through the implementation of child and youth spaces, complete with educational opportunities, recreation, and outreach. This partnership will expand Make Music Matter’s Music Enrichment Program further in the DRC and will work more directly with children and youth, particularly young girls, and the protection and implementation of children’s rights in the North and South Kivu.

Finally, Make Music Matter is in the process of putting forth a proposal to bring our special brand of music therapy and advocacy to work with Aboriginal and Indigenous communities in Ontario, Canada. This proposed program would focus, similar to Panzi, on women affected by sexual violence in the community and work towards educating a Canadian audience on sexual violence against Aboriginal women and a process of healing among participants.

Beyond the anticipated program expansions, Make Music Matter will be looking into the process of doing a third My Song For Change contest, will be fully re-designing their website, and will continue to edit and release songs created in its existing programming. In the near future, Make Music Matter will be releasing a promotional video and a four song EP with Swedish Hip Hop artist, Timbuktu, who visited the Panzi Hospital site last September to work with its beneficiaries.

Given its great success and adaptability, Make Music Matter will be reviewing its Mission and Vision Statements to better represent the beneficiary group impacted by its Music Enrichment Program.

Music Matter is looking forward to continuing to impact change in the communities and meeting its mission of engaging, educating, and fostering communities affected by extreme poverty through music and socially conscious art.

After a very exciting and busy year implementing the Music Enrichment Program at Panzi Hospital and the Uyisenga N’Manzi Peace Centre, Make Music Matter is looking to a future of program expansion and partnerships to further implement its MEP model in a number of communities.

At the Rwanda site, Make Music Matter is looking to develop the program to include a framework for trauma, depression and PTSD reduction in child-headed households in addition to its existing focus on health education and reduction of stigma associated with HIV/AIDS.

LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE


THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

IMPLEMENTATION AND SUPPORTING PARTNERS:

Panzi HospitalPanzi Foundation USAPanzi Foundation DRCUyisenga N’ManziMetalworks InstituteJoao Carvalho MasteringWar Child CanadaHumanitarian Innovation FundWestern Union CanadaWalmart CanadaGlobal CollegeSlaight CommunicationsFriesen FoundationLush Handmade CosmeticsManitoba Council for International Cooperation (MCIC)MLA Christine MelnickThe Asper FoundationCUPE NationalMel LazareckThe University of Manitoba - College of MedicineLarry VickarBonnie BuhlerDeborah GrayAlbert el TassiGlobal College and The University of Winnipeg Graffiti Art Programming Inc. Direct Focus Marketing Communications

photos by Jeppe Schilder MSFC photos by Randy Krahn

An extra special thank you goes out to the artists that continue to advocate for Make Music Matter:

SUPPORTING ARTISTS:

Ian D’Sa and Billy TalentCone McCaslin (Sum 41)Sam Roberts BandJohn Angus MacDonald (the Trews)Hill Kourkoutis (Serena Ryder, Hill, and the Sky Heroes)Jim Cuddy (Blue Rodeo)Steve Bays (Hot Hot Heat, Mounties)Big SugarDamhnait DoyleClassifiedLuke McMaster Timbuktu

BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Darcy Ataman Jit LahiryJaime CundyDavid BottrillMichael EspinozaDaniel GoldenbergRebecca PurverDevon GergovichBrian FoxJennifer LinRyan Clarke

A very big thank you to the many partners, foundations, Canadian corporations and many more unnamed Canadian women and men who donate to us individually. Without them we would never be able to help the poor and disenfranchised both overseas and at home and advocate for a better future.

Annual Report written by Brianne McKay and Darcy Ataman

*Our Financial report is available upon request.

Make Music Matter Inc.605-110 Princess St.Wpg MB R3B [email protected]

Make Music Matter is a registered Canadian CharityBusiness Number: 834452369RR0001

Documents

MAKE MUSIC MATTER ANNUAL REPORT 2015 // 01 · MAKE MUSIC MATTER ANNUAL REPORT 2015 // 03 In our inaugural Annual Report, we are celebrating the ... This ideology extends into our