Eulalee Thompson
Trained hands caressing the seasoned membrane of a drumhead; it's hip-rolling rhythm, heart racing, the space is energised.
Sounds, too, of indigenous instruments - pot covers, graters, tin cans, a tambourine and others, being played by some nine-year-old children.
Then, enter a kaleidoscope of colours - 20 or so children, also nine years old, wearing multi-coloured masks created by their own tiny hands. They are moving. Their voices, in unison, repeat a chorus ... "We don't want any violence, we don't want any murder, we don't want any crime."
The setting is the simple side room of the St. Matthew's Church, in Allman Town, East Heroes' Circle, Kingston. But this performance was anything but simple; they were participants in a pilot study by the University of the West Indies (UWI), using culture as therapy.
"The musicians use implements as instruments - there is important differentiation of roles - singing, dancing, drama, musician instruments, costume, art work, organisational programme that got them together. These are the issues that bring us together and because we do it naturally, as Jamaican people, we don't recognise the power of this cultural therapy," said Professor Frederick Hickling, head, Section of Psychiatry, UWI.
Aim to transform
He also heads a new UWI institute - the Caribbean Institute of Mental Health and Substance Abuse (CARIMENSA) with a core responsibility to build mental health programmes in Jamaica's communities, such as this pilot study in the low-income community of Allman Town.
Professor Hickling said, "We are going to craft different programmes ... cultural therapy programmes for different age groups to get people to transform themselves in different areas of the society."
This group of children performers, from the Allman Town Primary School, were identified by their teachers as displaying behavioural problems, lack of motivations and/or not performing at their grade levels.
However, 36 hours spread over three weeks later in the CARIMENSA pilot programme, their teachers report that about 50 per cent of them had shown improvement in their end-of-year examinations; school rivalry has been breaking down and that the stronger children were now more willing to help the younger or weaker ones.
"We noticed at the beginning of the programme children with behavioural problems, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), lots of these children couldn't sit still, their attention span was short, now it is this long," said Profession Hickling, indicating the distances with his hands wide apart.
Culture is used in Jamaica's mental health circles as therapy; as a strategy for risk reduction, reducing drug use, violent behaviours, sexual behaviour and in facilitating lifestyle development using indigenous material and techniques.
Movements and actions are symbolic, important vehicles to impart life lessons.
"When we do this (the performance) we don't focus on the performance, because that is the tip of the iceberg, but on the process, how did we get from where they were at the beginning," said Sheila Graham, programme coordinator.
Forming identities
During the three-week programme, the children's imagination were challenged. They pretended that they were inhabiting a new, imaginary planet, they produced a long list of items banished from this planet (such as police, guns, knives, ganja, hatred, rapists, violence, abusive teachers, bad man, condoms) and items to bring along (such as happy homes, Christmas, peace, love, justice, girlfriends, Santa Claus).
Ms. Graham said that their days started with breakfast to energise them and feed the soul. Their name tags carried their photographs, addressing self-identity issues. Their masks were symbols.
"It helped them form their identity, their alterego, what they would like to be in the other world. (This got) them to think of themselves in terms of careers, maybe it's too (early) for nine year olds to think of careers but to focus on somebody else in the other world ... gives them the ambition to be somebody," said Ms. Graham.
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