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Guest Blog: UNT Professors in Kosovo to Evaluate SMF!

Jun 06, 2010

 

Children of war are inherently exposed to significant trauma. Due to widespread devastation of economic, structural, and educational systems these children have few options for reduction of distress and fostering of resiliency. The music education program of the Shropshire Music Foundation (SMF) has demonstrated significant long-term positive impact on children of war, including significantly higher secondary education graduation rates and college enrollment. However, there has not yet been a careful, systematic and longitudinal examination of the program’s effectiveness. Terri Sundberg, University of North Texas (UNT) College of Music Associate Professor, recently obtained a small grant to bring in independent researchers that can initiate such an evaluation.

Jennifer Callahan PhD and Camilo Ruggero PhD are psychologists on faculty at UNT with expertise in conducting outcome studies and they agreed to take on the task of evaluating the SMF programming. To start the project they traveled with Liz to Kosovo in late May to study the longest running SMF program. They were able to gather quite a bit of data during the 7 days they spent in Gjakove, though much work remains. The hope is that the data they gathered may serve as preliminary evidence to secure additional grant funding for more extensive evaluation of SMF programming. We hope that they can return to Kosovo and also expand the data collection to SMF programming in Uganda and Northern Ireland. Jennifer and Camilo put together some non-research thoughts for the SMF blog to share some of their personal impressions on their first (of many, we hope) trips to Kosovo.

Day One in Kosovo:

Getting to Gjakove is not easy! Four flights and a car journey carried us from Texas on Sunday morning to our arrival in Gjakove late Monday afternoon. In the two weeks before our trip we worked at adjusting our sleep schedules to accommodate the 7-hour time difference and ease jet lag, but our efforts were not entirely successful. We were really tired for the last leg of our trip, which was a car ride from Pristina airport to Gjakove. Despite the fatigue, we found ourselves entranced by the beauty of red wild flowers blooming along the roadside and the snow capped mountains in the distance. The striking natural beauty was contrasted with the lingering evidence of war and provided our first glimpse of the hardships faced by Kosovo and it’s people. Burim picked us up from the airport and as we were noticing the remnants of war, we were also noticing his remarkable ability to make one feel hopeful for Kosovo’s future. We’re looking forward to meeting more of the people of Kosovo….but after sleeping.

Day Two in Kosovo:

Liz must be experiencing jet lag too, but you certainly wouldn’t know it. She wisely sleeps when the children are in school so that when she is reunited with some of the SMF teen volunteers later in the day she is, in a word, dynamic. Pianissimo and tender when she senses hurting, Liz is nothing less than fortissimo the rest of

the time. Her energy is infectious and so many people know her that it’s a bit like traveling with a rock star (but Liz is much better behaved). Classes for the children won’t be held until later this week, but her reunion with some of the teen volunteers as they come to the SMF house for nightly training and the genuine excitement both for and from Liz is inspiring. So many people go through life never providing or receiving that kind of love….

To Be Continued…