Also Created Song Called ‘Living for Today’
Music was in the air as families and volunteers created a special song about their experiences at Richard House Children’s Hospice and the artwork for a CD cover to accompany it.
Children and families, volunteers and staff made up the twenty-eight people at the hospice to make the recording.
They combined to create a song, called ‘Living for Today’, which was a lively creation, using percussion instruments, piano and singing. The lyrics were created from feedback from families who use the hospice, with two of the verses created by children and young adults on the day.
Families then gathered natural materials from the Richard House garden and used them alongside more conventional art materials to create art pieces. The artwork will be collated to make the final cover, with a video to follow in the coming weeks.
Art and music therapy is an important part of the family support offered by the hospice, based in Beckton, with weekly art as well as music therapy sessions taking place both in the hospice as well as in family homes.
The mother of one of the children who use the hospice, Monica, said: “There’s a lot of things my son George can’t do, but music is something he can participate in and enjoy as much as everyone else. He can do it on his own; listen, sing, laugh…it’s something I can leave him to do on his own without having to help him all the time.”
Anita Vaz, music therapist at Richard House Children’s Hospice, said: “The day was not only enjoyable, but it gave each member of the family the opportunity to join in a shared activity together. There are so many things that families are unable to do together, as many children and young adults have complex health needs, and the day allowed them to simply enjoy being a family.
“Each person has left in the knowledge that he or she has been at the heart of everything that has happened today, and it’s been an absolutely fantastic day all round.”
