Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza have fired thousands of rockets at Sderot in the last 20 years, with exorbitant figures during the different wars experienced and as a consequence of this, it is estimated that 40% of the children in our city Sderot, located less a mile from the Gaza Strip, experiences symptoms of anxiety, fear and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a study published in The Jerusalem Post.
Some other studies place this figure between 70% for children who present some type of trauma due to the stress situation they have to face every day, such as the sound of sirens and having to run to bomb shelters in just 15 seconds.
Music Can Help Calm Suffering
It is possible to use the beneficial effects of music to treat certain disorders, as well as to enhance the development of physical and mental skills, which is why it is frequently used in the treatment of childhood disorders, especially in the area of Psychology.
Playing a musical instrument is an excellent tool to help children overcome their traumas and fears, causing them joy, and pleasure, and helping them to develop their abilities.
Some benefits of music are:
- It enhances cognitive functions
It has been shown that music improves children’s attention and concentration while stimulating the fixation on new content. In addition, it is a tool to encourage their imagination, creativity, concept formation, and mental agility. It also helps to promote learning and problem-solving.
- Improve emotional problems
Music helps to strengthen the child’s self-esteem, making him feel more secure and confident in himself. In fact, a study conducted by researchers at Queen’s University Belfast in the United Kingdom has found that this type of therapy can reduce symptoms of depression in children with behavioral problems.
- Strengthens body expression
Through music therapy, children acquire and develop their body expression skills, sharpen their auditory discrimination and refine their motor coordination. In addition, they learn to release pent-up energy. If combined with dance, it can be an excellent therapy to treat muscle and bone problems.
- Encourage socialization
Music helps children to express themselves, it is a way to motivate them to get out of their comfort zone and interact with other people showing their true selves. In fact, it has become one of the alternative therapies most used by psychologists and psychiatrists to improve communication skills in children with trauma.
- Stimulates brain maturation
Music is a great strategy to stimulate children’s brain development. In fact, music is capable of producing the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter related to a good mood.
Our response to the need
Knowing that music can help ease this pain, our “City of Life” ministry and Outreach Center made a commitment to help our local music school equip itself to be able to serve more and more children who seek hope in music.
As we had previously shared, seeing the need for certain musical instruments in the music school, our team contacted the saxophone teacher to receive advice about what would be the best purchase option for the many children who want to study this instrument who were on the “waiting list” because of the lack of it.
Based on that, our team proceeded with the purchase of an instrument with all the necessary and high-end features as a donation for the local music school where the suffering children of Sderot will have the opportunity to finally be able to express their feelings and enjoy all the benefits of learning one of their favorite instruments.
The excited director of the school thanked us profusely and was glad that he could continue to count on our help in his task of transmitting knowledge to the children of Sderot, promising to get down to work for the soon start of saxophone classes finally after so much wait time.
Most of the children who attend this school belong to the most unfortunate families in our city, Sderot, who suffer from post-traumatic syndrome, and have the opportunity through music and the environment created especially in the school to help them, overcome their fears and anxieties to improve their quality of life.
You too can bless them and be part of this commitment of obedience to the Lord together with us by joining in our goal as there are still more musical instruments and equipment needed for this music school to be able to bring relief to more kids in Sderot.
Our role as the body of the Messiah is to bring hope to this lost world and illuminate in times of darkness creating an impact on society, so our ministry is committed to reaching as many people as possible who suffer, and many of them depend on our commitment and dedication for the work of the Lord.
You can be part of and impact the lives of more people who need help in our city and together show them the way, the truth, and the life.
We invite you to be part of our ministry so that together we can bring hope to our border town of Sderot.
Our work would not be possible without the help of partners like you, so we ask you to consider in prayer the possibility of a monthly commitment that will allow us to continue with the Lord’s work here in Israel.
Sincerely yours
Pastors
Michael & Dina Beener
and CLM Israel Team
“City of Life”
Messianic congregation and Outreach Center
Sderot, Israel.
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