Feature: Music therapy helping ease trauma of quake-traumatized kids in Nepal

It's been three days since the resumption of educational institutions in the quake-stricken Himalayan nation,but the children are yet to break free from the shackles of fear following the massive, life-altering disaster, with its lethal and frequent subsequent aftershocks.

To help ease them out of the emotional trauma that they've suffered at such a tender age, different organizations and creative minds have come up with musical therapy sessions.

As part of raising awareness about the earthquakes and healing the psychological problems of the affected children, music is helping to put smiles back on the faces of the terrified Nepalese children.

On Tuesday afternoon, around one hundred children living in a temporary settlement in Tudikhel in the capital gathered in the center of the ground and shared their experiences over the past month in the musical session organized by the Nepal Academy of Music and Drama.

Thanks to the music, they seemed less frightened, more vibrant and joyful.These innocent children from age five to under-fifteen not only sung their favorite songs, but also danced, shared jokes and recited poems.They were excited to share their stories and how they witnessed the quake.

"I was watching TV in my home when the quake occurred. Suddenly, our TV set started shaking and I ran out of our home with my mother and sister. I was afraid then, but now, I don't fear earthquakes. I learned that it's natural," a fifth-grader at Nirmal Vidyapeeth School, Manish Dolami,shared with Xinhua.

Though the schools resumed in the capital, children have been engaged in extracurricular activities these days and in-between they are taught about the earthquake in an indirect way.

Musical therapy has been motivating students to share their feelings and spin the disaster into positives for these impressionable minds.

Unnati Bohara, a member of the Academic Council of Nepal Academy, who coordinated the session, said, "We found the influence of music therapy very helpful in touching the emotional side of children. Music and dance help children to open themselves up and express their feelings."

Nepal Academy of Music and Drama has been organizing such sessions in different parts of the country including in Kathmandu with the participation of renowned celebrities, singers, comedians and other artists.

The sessions not only immerse children in music, but also inform them about the facts of earthquakes and how they should be dealt with.

Meanwhile, the Nepal Police have also been active in providing entertainment to the quake-hit people in different districts to help relieve them of fear and mental anguish.

A team of police personnel have already organized such sessions adding"dance" and "drama" in more than a dozen camps and major junctions. On Tuesday afternoon, they were entertaining the students of St. Xaviers School in Lalitpur, a district inside the valley.

"We are physically fit, but mentally disturbed by the earthquake. The fear is high even within us and so you can easily imagine the state of our children. Such musical sessions provide positive vibes, it's really helpful," Maya Rai, a mother of two kids, said. Endi