emirates7 - Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS) has continued its strategic partnership with Iowa Women’s University in the Republic of Korea and the Korean Music Therapy Association to implement and develop its music therapy programme.
This collaboration has reinforced SCHS’s position as a leading institution in delivering specialised therapeutic programmes based on international best practices, while advancing its commitment to enhancing the quality of services provided to persons with disabilities.
Khadija Ahmed Bamakhramah, Planning and Follow-up Officer and General Supervisor of the Music Therapy Programme at SCHS, said the organisation has focused on the sustainable development of services for persons with disabilities since its establishment in 1979, in line with its vision of inclusion, advocacy and empowerment.
She noted that SCHS is the first institution at the state level dedicated to persons with disabilities to incorporate music therapy within its specialised services system. Since 2013, in cooperation with Iowa Women’s University and the Korean Music Therapy Association, SCHS has implemented music therapy as a professional intervention grounded in evidence-based therapeutic approaches.
Music is utilised as a therapeutic tool to enhance beneficiaries’ physical, linguistic, social, emotional and cognitive abilities. The programme is applied across various levels and categories in accordance with beneficiaries’ individual needs and capacities.
Bamakhramah stressed that SCHS places strong emphasis on building human competencies to ensure the sustainability and quality of the programme’s outcomes.
She said, “We are pleased to have graduated the 11th cohort of 10 teachers from SCHS’s music therapy programme. The total number of SCHS employees who have completed the programme has now reached 151 teachers, specialists and supervisors, who have been trained in music therapy methodologies and strategies based on approved scientific and practical foundations.”
She added that, under the supervision of experts from Iowa Women’s University, SCHS launched the training programme for the 12th cohort on 4th February, 2026, with the participation of 11 teachers and specialists. The initiative aims to further strengthen qualified competencies capable of delivering the programme with high efficiency and quality.
In January 2026, SCHS also organised the 12th annual music therapy workshop in collaboration with Iowa Women’s University and the Korean Music Therapy Association. The workshop sought to enhance professional practices and develop graduates’ competencies by reviewing the latest global approaches and strategies in music therapy.
Bamakhramah underscored that the continuous support of Sheikha Jameela bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, President of SCHS, remains a key pillar in ensuring the programme’s success and sustainability. She noted that her vision in supporting rehabilitation and capacity-building initiatives has contributed to strengthening and expanding the impact of this qualitative programme, serving SCHS’s goal of empowering students with disabilities, developing their communication, social and cognitive skills, and improving their quality of life.
For her part, Professor Qa Awal Yu, Head of the Department of Music Therapy, Graduate School, at Iowa Women's University, stressed that this year's workshop is especially meaningful, as it shows the common history and progress made between SCHS and Iowa Women's University.
She affirmed that music therapy has become an integral part of SCHS’s mission to support children, praising the teachers’ dedication to professional development and expressing confidence in expanding cooperation to benefit more individuals.
This collaboration has reinforced SCHS’s position as a leading institution in delivering specialised therapeutic programmes based on international best practices, while advancing its commitment to enhancing the quality of services provided to persons with disabilities.
Khadija Ahmed Bamakhramah, Planning and Follow-up Officer and General Supervisor of the Music Therapy Programme at SCHS, said the organisation has focused on the sustainable development of services for persons with disabilities since its establishment in 1979, in line with its vision of inclusion, advocacy and empowerment.
She noted that SCHS is the first institution at the state level dedicated to persons with disabilities to incorporate music therapy within its specialised services system. Since 2013, in cooperation with Iowa Women’s University and the Korean Music Therapy Association, SCHS has implemented music therapy as a professional intervention grounded in evidence-based therapeutic approaches.
Music is utilised as a therapeutic tool to enhance beneficiaries’ physical, linguistic, social, emotional and cognitive abilities. The programme is applied across various levels and categories in accordance with beneficiaries’ individual needs and capacities.
Bamakhramah stressed that SCHS places strong emphasis on building human competencies to ensure the sustainability and quality of the programme’s outcomes.
She said, “We are pleased to have graduated the 11th cohort of 10 teachers from SCHS’s music therapy programme. The total number of SCHS employees who have completed the programme has now reached 151 teachers, specialists and supervisors, who have been trained in music therapy methodologies and strategies based on approved scientific and practical foundations.”
She added that, under the supervision of experts from Iowa Women’s University, SCHS launched the training programme for the 12th cohort on 4th February, 2026, with the participation of 11 teachers and specialists. The initiative aims to further strengthen qualified competencies capable of delivering the programme with high efficiency and quality.
In January 2026, SCHS also organised the 12th annual music therapy workshop in collaboration with Iowa Women’s University and the Korean Music Therapy Association. The workshop sought to enhance professional practices and develop graduates’ competencies by reviewing the latest global approaches and strategies in music therapy.
Bamakhramah underscored that the continuous support of Sheikha Jameela bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, President of SCHS, remains a key pillar in ensuring the programme’s success and sustainability. She noted that her vision in supporting rehabilitation and capacity-building initiatives has contributed to strengthening and expanding the impact of this qualitative programme, serving SCHS’s goal of empowering students with disabilities, developing their communication, social and cognitive skills, and improving their quality of life.
For her part, Professor Qa Awal Yu, Head of the Department of Music Therapy, Graduate School, at Iowa Women's University, stressed that this year's workshop is especially meaningful, as it shows the common history and progress made between SCHS and Iowa Women's University.
She affirmed that music therapy has become an integral part of SCHS’s mission to support children, praising the teachers’ dedication to professional development and expressing confidence in expanding cooperation to benefit more individuals.
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