Perspectives on the practice of community music therapy in rural primary schools of Malawi

The author, a board-certified music therapist, and two colleagues, a literacy specialist and a special educator, travelled to Malawi, Africa in 2013 to explore the incidences of disabilities in the schools outside of the capital city of Lilongwe. Preliminary information was collected on the educational system, the types of strategies and supports that were in place for students with special needs, and the use of music as a resource in the classrooms and the communities. A community music therapy framework was employed to contextualize the possibilities available for providing sustainable music resources to facilitate an increase in accessibility for students with disabilities and to empower classroom communities to support the needs of those with disabilities.