Centro Bonilla began a new program within the organization that focuses on music. Music is profoundly linked to spirituality, acting as a powerful tool for emotional expression, spiritual connection, and communal gathering across cultures and religions by fostering a sense of unity with the divine and with community. It can serve as a personal pathway to higher consciousness, community, and the arts which is in alignment with the community work that we have been doing at Centro Bonilla.
Students in poverty participate in music education at a lower rate than higher income peers. As poverty increases in the Dominican Republic, this may have a major detrimental effect on music programs. Lack of resources and student mobility create obstacles for students in poverty to participate in music, which overall music is a form of expression and contributes positively to communities overall wellbeing.
The music program will start to create more opportunities for families to have access to music lessons and instruments. The music program will be utilize as a form of expression and processing of feelings and emotions for members in the community. Overall, music will have a positive impact on the students mental, emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing.
The potential long-term impact of the music program is that this will create more opportunities for the children, men and women to explore their skills and interests outside of their day to day responsibilities and it will bring more joy within the household. It will be a catalyst for expressing and processing certain feelings/emotions that may come up for them in their daily lives.
