Spotlight on partnerships – Casa Alianza Mexico

Casa Alianza Mexico is a charity that provides care and protection for children who have experienced extraordinary trauma, including abuse, neglect, violence, abandonment, substance addiction, sexual exploitation and human trafficking.

Based in a purpose built, eco-friendly home, they provide a complete package of essential services for the children in their care as well as running programmes that reach children across Mexico.

Our Play On grant has been supporting Casa Alianza Mexico’s music therapy project, bringing music and its many benefits into the lives of the teenagers in their care.

We asked Carlos Yair Galicia Reyna from Casa Alianza Mexico, to tell us more about the project.

Can you tell us a little about the young people you work with?

Most of the beneficiaries of Casa Alianza Mexico come from backgrounds of inequality and violence. Because of this, they have had no opportunities to study or practise musical instruments. At the Casa Alianza Mexico facilities many of the children walk around with their headphones on, absorbed in music as an escape and a joy – singing in their free time or trying to learn to play an instrument.

How have you been using the Play On funding?

With ABRSM’s Play On funding we have been providing classes to develop skills and enjoyment in playing, singing and writing music – helping young people to express their trauma and pain through the medium of music therapy.

The project consists of weekly classes of two hours for two groups of 10 to 20 teenagers who are interested in music, especially guitar and singing, but with a range of other instruments as well. Many participants have started to learn an instrument from scratch and they also have an extra monthly music class.

Why music therapy?

Through music therapy we seek not only to bring our beneficiaries closer to music as a hobby or something enjoyable, but to provide a therapeutic way to strengthen skills such as self-esteem, creativity and the expression and control of emotions, in addition to improving psychomotor development and intellectual capacity.

The purpose is not only learning to play an instrument and sing, but to learn to work together to produce a whole song or performance. It helps to teach that working as an individual is good but working together can develop into something spectacular. 

Watch our short film about Play On featuring Casa Alianza Mexico.