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First-hand accounts of the Berklee experience

Tag: MusicXChange

MusicXChange

Returning Where I’ve Never Been: MusicXChange Takes Me to Ghana

Ghana collageIn January 2016, the nonprofit MusicXChange, founded by Berklee student Federico Masetti, organized a two-week service trip to Ghana to build strategic partnerships and raise awareness about the organization. The following post was written by tamia rashima jordan, one of the trip’s participants. Read posts by fellow participants Apiwe Bubu and Ellie Foster.

By tamia rashima jordan

There are no words to convey how excited I was to finally visit THE continent. Prior to departing the U.S. I’d ask two of my friends, one from Tanzania and one from Mozambique, for any thoughts or advice with respect to my impending travels. My friend from Tanzania said a few things and while I remember them all, I deeply internalized two. The first: let go of all expectations of what it will be. He shared that having expectations, good, bad, or even neutral, can be incredibly difficult to reconcile when those expectations are not met. He said this is the case especially for African-Americans traveling to the continent for the first time.

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Music Meets Medicine in Ghana

Apiwe image 1In January 2016, the nonprofit MusicXChange, founded by Berklee student Federico Masetti, organized a two-week service trip to Ghana to build strategic partnerships and raise awareness about the organization. The following post was written by Apiwe Bubu, one of the trip’s participants. Read a post by fellow participant Ellie Foster.

By Apiwe Bubu

Suffice to say, January 8 in Kumasi, Ghana, was an incredible day. We awoke to chase yet more productive meetings and encounters with Ghanaian kin and professionals, and our first stop was our meeting with Dr. Thomas Poku. He is the personal doctor of the Ashanti king, and someone well versed in the medical and health world. Given that the king himself entrusts Dr. Poku with his health shows that this is a man with good credibility and ability. It was good to hear him vocalize his support for the MusicXChange initiative and introducing music therapy in Ghana. What I did find interesting was his job at the hospital where he explained how he at times used music to calm his patients and sometimes break some devastating news to them, such as diagnoses of HIV or AIDS.

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A Vision for Music Therapy in Ghana

Ellie Foster HeadshotIn January 2016, the nonprofit MusicXchange, founded by Berklee student Federico Masetti, organized a two-week service trip to Ghana to build strategic partnerships and raise awareness about the organization. The following post was written by Ellie Foster, one of the trip’s participants. Read a post by fellow participant Apiwe Bubu.

By Ellie Foster

Among the many meetings we had in Kumasi, Ghana, on January 7, none was quite so preliminarily daunting–and ultimately fruitful–as our appointment with Dr. Baffour Awuah. Dr. Awuah, medical director of Komfo Anyoke Teaching Hospital, sits on the board of HopeXChange Medical Center and agreed to meet with us at the request of fellow board member Riccardo Masetti—noted oncologist and father of our trip’s leader, Federico. As we sat in his waiting room, I couldn’t help but feel nervous about pitching the concept of music therapy to him.

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