Ever hear of Clowns without borders?

This is a letter form and to a friend of a friend, it looks like they say a lot so I'm posting it.

Dear Friends and Family,

Big hellos and smiles to you from Durban, South Africa, where our group
of eight has returned after spending three weeks in the Eastern Cape and
Northern KwaZulu-Natal, performing 26 shows for over 8,000 children and
adults in communities greatly affected by poverty and the HIV/AIDS
epidemic.

We also taught a week of circus workshops for a group of high school
students during our week in Ingwavuma. The students were extremely
receptive, ready to play, and willing to overcome their fear and try
scary things like turning upside-down and taking a walk on a pair of
stilts. They asked us to come back and teach them more; really,
everywhere we went on this expedition people were expressing interest in
long-term circus residencies. Each of our partner organizations
described a great need in their community for healthy, engaging
activities for kids and adults. In poor rural areas where people are
facing hardship and tragedy and there's very little to do, many
community members spend a lot of time drinking, starting at a very young
age. Some kids, living on their own after their parents die of AIDS,
start drinking and doing drugs and are joined by friends who run away
from home to live where there's no supervision. Of course circus arts
can't change all this, but they can engage, inspire, and provide an
alternative pasttime.

For me, while this expedition was very much about these shows and
workshops, it was just as much about the group of artists I was
traveling with. While they have all been studying and performing circus
arts for years, for many this was their first time performing as clown
characters and touring as an ensemble. We gave each other notes on the
show at the end of each day. It was amazing to watch the changes over
the course of our three weeks - Bongiwe opening her eyes to the
audience, Bongekile feeling the power of a well-timed look, Mr.
Fish learning that just a wiggle of his bony knees can send the audience
into hysterics. The idea is that this trip, along with the training
they do through Cirkus Cirkor's Circus Life Program at the BAT Centre in
Durban, will help these extremely talented folks develop their careers
as performing artists (and have the confidence to stand up and ask to be
paid as much as their white colleagues).

Below are two short journal entries about our experiences written by
Wonderboy and Bongiwe, who were on the expedition.

Much love,
Sarah


May 14, 2007 - Eshowe - Wonderboy Manana


The bell rang at Thembimfundo Special School in Eshowe. Children with
challenges and disabilities came and assembled at the open space of the
schoolyard. Some of us took our individual and partner responsibilities
in organizing the kids and childcare workers and staff as an audience to
sit and watch the show, while others set up the stage and got ready to
showcase one of our outstanding performances.

One of the most entertaining scenes is a child who cannot stand or walk
and rolled himself around on a skateboard does a handstand after being
inspired by our performance. The most fun moment was after the show
when the kids got to the dance circle with joy and laughter. I played
the music and we took turns dancing into the circle.

It was also interesting after our show to let them try other skills like
juggling balls, walking on stilts and some other acrobatics.


May 24, 2007 - Ingwavuma - Bongiwe Mabuya (translated from isiZulu)

We arrived on Sunday at Ingwavuma Orphan Care (IOC) where we met the
director, Dr. Anne Barnard. Ingwavuma is a dry, cold rural village in
the northeast corner of KwaZulu-Natal. The IOC gave us 3 of their staff
members who are working in different projects with children offering
childcare support at schools in the area. On Monday, they took us to
the first school, Mlambongwenya Primary School where we performed one of
our most polished shows bringing fun and laughter to all the students.
They all enjoyed it a lot which was a relief to the childcare workers
who appreciated our visit from Durban and efforts in putting a smile on
the face of the children. On the same day, we visited another school
named Lundini Combined Primary School has experienced a lot of poverty
and HIV/AIDS. Six children were about to go home because one of their
family members had passed away but stayed to see the show first.

On our second day, we visited a school named uNonjinijikali Primary
School. We immediately saw that there is a need for the children to buy
shoes, jerseys, and even food as it was very cold in the area.
When they were watching the performance, we could see that there is not
much entertainment available that gives them laughter and enjoyment to
forget their painful past experiences. We also visited another school
named Lubambo Primary School where we received a warm welcome. The
students had been looking forward to seeing our show even though it was
very cold and windy. Again, some of the children were not even wearing
jerseys or shoes. When we started our show, they forgot about the cold
weather enjoying our routines so much!
Some of the teachers asked for our contact details afterwards for maybe
doing a workshop with the kids in order to cope with challenges at home
and at school. Maybe some day soon.



SUPPORT OUR WORK!!!


Clowns Without Borders is supported for the most part by individuals
like YOU! It is the big and small donations that make these expeditions
and the thousands of smiles and happy hearts possible. We are currently
fundraising to be able to continue Project Njabulo's work with HIV/AIDS
affected caregivers and children in August 2007.

Please make a tax-deductible donation to CWB by sending a check made out
to "Clowns Without Borders" to:

Clowns Without Borders
540 Alabama, #215
San Francisco, CA 94110

Online donations can be made via Paypal at
www.clownswithoutborders.org/helping/index.shtml.