SOC in Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Ukraine
“What are you actually doing these days?” It’s a question we hear more often lately, and it’s a fair one. Much of our current work happens quietly, out of the public eye, because the people we work with depend on discretion for their safety. So here, we’d like to tell you a bit more.
Supporting those who support others in Gaza and the West Bank
For several months now, almost every week, we have been providing online training, intervision, coaching and support to a number of humanitarian organisations working in Gaza and the West Bank. We won’t name them, but we can share a little of what the participants told us:
“My experience of the training was useful and enriching. It increased my interest in the role of music in our lives, and in how we can change anything around us, like a painting or a piece of music, whatever the circumstances we are in. Continuing trainings like this one strengthens our motivation and enthusiasm for our work, and our professional resilience.”
“It showed me how music can be a simple and effective way to help people express their feelings, build a sense of psychological safety, and ease tension and stress.”
“It helped me gain practical ideas and tools for my work, especially in understanding trauma, supporting children and strengthening their ability to cope.”
These are intense days; sometimes long training days spent entirely online. The people we work with are doing vital work that is physically and emotionally exhausting. Being able to offer them something in return, whether tools, a space to reflect, or simply a moment to breathe, means a great deal to us.
Staying connected
Alongside this, we continue to support the trainers and facilitators we’ve trained over the past two years in Lebanon, Jordan and the West Bank through ongoing peer supervision and coaching. Training is a beginning. What keeps the work alive is maintaining contact with people afterwards.
Ukraine: more demand than we expected
Our work in Ukraine continues. Next week, Sounds of Change founder Lucas Dols travels to Ukraine to deliver training for a new group of facilitators (teachers, therapists and psychologists) alongside Sounds of Change trainer Kateryna Kudasheva and two newly trained Ukrainian trainers. Within a single day of opening registration, 116 people had signed up. We’ve therefore decided to repeat the training three more times in 2027.
Kateryna’s crowdfunding: 42% there
In case you missed our previous newsletter: we’re crowdfunding for the studies of our dear colleague and friend Kateryna Kudasheva. Alongside her remarkable work in Ukraine, Kateryna is training as a music therapist in the Netherlands. This programme isn’t available in Ukraine, but it’s essential for the work she’s doing there right now.
The campaign is going well, but we’re not there yet: we’ve reached 42% of our goal. Every contribution makes a difference so please give what you can afford.
You can support Kateryna’s studies here.
Annual Report and a warm welcome to Pascal
We’re happy to welcome our new intern, Pascal Grüwaz. Pascal is carrying out a data analysis and impact assessment, working through 255 completed surveys four years of training. We look forward to sharing his findings with you.
For now we are very happy to share our 2025 Annual Report, which has been online for a while, but we haven’t yet shared this with you.
You can read it here.
Thank you for reading to the end of our 'Stories of Change' newsletter.
We will continue our online and in-person training with local professionals who do important work for people in Palestine (Gaza and the West Bank), Jordan,
Lebanon, and Ukraine.
If you would like to support our work with a one-time or monthly financial contribution, we would greatly appreciate it. Sharing our story with others who may be interested also helps us enormously.
With love, warmth and peace,
the Sounds of Change team