In Mai 2022 I want to go volunteering for the NGO "Connect by Music" (https://www.connectbymusic.com/) in the Reception Center (Refugees Camp) in Malakasas (Greece) to provide music therapy-based activities to the people staying there.

In 2018 I have already been to Greece, back then Camp Moria in Lesbos still existed. I have made very formative experiences in the 2 weeks I have been there, which were of great influence on my choices regarding my way of working as a music therapist. I started to get more interested in Persian and Arabic music playing and singing. When I went for an exchange in my fourth year, I chose to participate in a university course that used music to promote a (musical) dialogue between two conflicting cultures. After that, a group of music therapists and I started the project "Music For Moria" (https://musicformoria.com) where we held benefit concerts, collecting donations for NGOs in Camp Moria 2 (Home For all, Connect by Music). Last summer I finally graduated from ArtEZ Conservatory, focusing in my bachelor thesis on how to use Community Music Therapy practices in order to enhance the integration of people with a refugees background to Europe. These days I am working as a workshop leader in the AZC in Almelo.

This time I want to go to Greece a bit longer (1,5-2 months). I want to deepen my knowledge on how to make use of the power of music in order to facilitate coping with the unbearable living conditions people in the camps are confronted with. I saw the impact music can have back in 2018 and I would love to share this with everyone I can reach this time.
The money I am collecting here is going to be used for my own living expenses during the time I am volunteering (food, insurance, housing, travel costs). I am glad for any support I can get in order to make this project happen.