Clowns Without Borders - USA

August and September Project Njabulo

Volunteers: Alice Nelson, Jamie Lachman and Liz Turkel

Journal

Alice’s Journal:Friday September 15th

Home again home again, jiggity jig. Well, not my home, but a home. We are back in Johannesburg, having finished our first expedition. This past week was very eventful, playful, exhausting and rewarding.

 
Most days, I couldn’t wait to perform for the kids. I’d wake up so excited to do the show that I would be ready an hour early and have to sit around in my striped socks and goofy glasses saying, “is it time yet?”. What a clown nerd. Oh, and I finally got my clown a dress. Jamie says it makes my clown look more gentle. Which is good because my clown is kinda punchy. Also we’ve managed to work my bad magic in! Now it’s not embarrassing, it’s funny.

 
Feeling Good #1: On September 5th, our second performance was our first indoor show. We performed in a school’s hall for 400 children. Jamie was right; sometimes the laughter is so loud it hurts your ears…. And he also discovered that if you pop a balloon beside your ear in a small hall, you lose your hearing for five minutes…

 
Afternoons last week were devoted to teaching 36 OVC (orphans and vulnerable children who have lost either one or both parents to HIV/AIDS) in association with the Rob Smetherham Bereavement Service for Children. We taught in an empty classroom in a school. Other students would push their way through the broken windows to get a glimpse of the class. We had wonderful translators to help us teach the “life dreams” workshop. Our main translator was Njabulo, who I discovered is also a great guy to have at a party. Liz, Jamie and I taught the children warm ups, theatre games, visualizations and improv. They worked in groups to present final pieces that they created regarding their life dreams.

 
Feeling Good #2: Making sandwiches with Liz every night for the OVCs the next day. Never have I laughed so much while making polony and Rama sandwiches.

 
On September 7th, we performed for over 3000 children. We had 2 shows for huge schools. The second show was in a huge hall. The show went on for an extra 30 minutes just because it was going so well; playing with the audience and each other. I must admit, I was a little sad at the end because it was our last show together for this expedition. But it was a great show to end on.Most of the villages don’t have electricity. These kids don’t have T.Vs, computers or go to see movies… so we’re kinda the entertainment. I’m glad we make them so happy.

 
Feeling Good #3: On Sept 6, we performed to a school of 900 kids. After the show the kids ran up and hugged us and hugged us and hugged us. It’s selfish… but making someone else happy sure makes you feel good! The next day was our last time teaching the OVCs here. They were such an outgoing group, always willing to jump in and take risks. I have no doubt that if they wanted to, these kids could do anything. We finished with a reflection, passing out “thought on a threads” ( www.thoughtonathread.co.uk) and handing out clown noses.

 
The next night we had a Braii (BBQ) at the Patch with the lovely folks from the RSBSC. Jamie cooked some chicken and boerwors (and by cooked I mean burnt and by boerwors I mean meatworm)….It was actually very very delicious! And we enjoyed some dancing and laughter. The RSBSC staff are fantastic people and it makes me happy to know that the kids have these great souls to help them through the hard times. Lucky Stars singing during their “Life Dreams” performance.

Jamie’s Journal: Aug 31th.

As I sit on the back veranda of Helen Smetherham’s cottage, spotted dairy cows peacefully graze before me while birds chirp on this serene spring morning in the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains in KwaZulu-Natal. Helen is the widow of the founder of the Rob Smetherham Bereavement Service for Children, our partner organization for the next week residency where we will be continuing our work of performing and teaching. We have just completed a 10 day residency with Woza Moya in the highlands near Ixopo in which we performed 12 shows for all the primary and secondary schools in the Ufafa district (close to 5,000 students) as well as conducted a workshop on Life Dreams for 36 orphans and vulnerable children. Taking a break from the rigorous schedule of morning performances and afternoons classes, I breathe in the fresh farm air (a bit garnished with manure), listen to the birds and the bees, and gaze out at the fields of grass, brush, and hillside – it is quite a different setting from the poverty and disease stricken villages we have been working in for the past 2 weeks. Already, I miss the shouts of “Awoogah! Awoogah!” and the singing of “Jekele Ma Weni” of the children we pass by as we drive Thembe, Woza Moya’s Child Minder and our partner for the collaboration, to her homestead each night. Though we have physically left the area, our visit still echoes in the hills and hearts of the many people we brought smiles to and hopefully inspired hopes and dreams to life. Below is yet another Journal Update from our last two days with Woza Moya. Thank you for taking the time to read it as it is our only way of connecting you to these experiences that have awakened much faith and joy in my heart.

August 31st, 2006 – Ufafa District, Kwazulu-Natal.

Today is our second to last workshop with the children. We have spent the last 8 days playing games, creating shapes, atmospheres, and group machines on stage, learning about each other, and exploring our life dreams. On Tuesday and Wednesday the children created short performances that bring together the skills they have learned and display their dreams and aspirations. Finally, today is a chance to share these pieces with each other and their gogos (grandmothers who take care of the children because of HIV/AIDS). The Gogos arrive and take their place in white plastic chairs in front of the red dusty ground that will serve as our impromptu stage. We have been blessed with a gentle, warm breeze after days of frigid mountain weather. The chairs gleam in the bright African sun. In the distance, roosters crow and trucks carrying timber workers rumble by. Our sharing is a chance for the Gogos to see what the children have been up to each afternoon.

We first warm up our bodies and play a few of our favorite games – passing a clap around the circle and the magic hoop or circle After a brief reminder of the expectations of the performances (to work together, share your beautiful voices and faces, and, above all, have fun) , the sharing begins. Doctors, lawyers, ship captains, soldiers, policemen, teachers, social workers, soccer stars, presidents, nurses, and child and youth workers sit nervously outside the Woza Moya centre in groups of four or five. Last minute changes are frantically whispered to each other. Each group has given themselves a name: Lucky Stars, National Anthem, Football Stars, Soldiers, Gregorrr. The children enter the stage as a machine moving together while singing or making sound effects. They announce their dreams and then perform a short scene using songs and movement. For many, it is their first time in front of an audience. Although they are shy and a bit scared, the performances are beautiful. Songs, poems, choreographies, and movement bring to life their aspirations and evoke tears in the eyes of their caregivers. We whoop and clap at the end of the each piece. The children begin to loosen up and enjoy themselves.

At the end of the sharing, Thembelephi, one of the oldest children, stands in front of the audience to recite a poem she wrote the night before. In isiZulu and broken English, she talks about her feelings of sadness and isolation after losing her parents. “We have all been hurt. Felt alone. Wanted to give up. But we do not lose hope in life. We can be brave and strong and support our future. Our dreams. I am not afraid. We keep this hope to be a success.” The words speak directly to the other children’s experience. Fidgeting ceases as all ears are listening. They applaud as she closes with a bow and beams her bright and beautiful smile dancing off stage. I am filled with a sense of happiness to see the children celebrate their success on this day. Today, they have been the stars, the center of attention, basking in the love and support of each other, their caregivers, and the Woza Moya team.

September 1st, 2006.

We gather in a classroom at Sinevuso, the nearby secondary school, to reflect and process our experience as a group before going our separate ways. Liz reminds the children of all the different activities and games we have explored. They close their eyes and visualize each day. At the beginning of the workshop, the children drew pictures of themselves as they hoped to be when they grow up. Now, we pass them around the circle giving each child the opportunity to see what their fellow classmates had drawn. They laugh and talk softly together enjoying the different pictures. One of the older girls tells us that she appreciates the chance to know that other children who have had similar difficult experiences also have their own hopes and dreams. As a big family, they can remind and support each other when things becomes difficult and challenging as they often will. Then, we hand out bracelets made out of black leather and a red wooden bead. Part of an international project called,Thought on a Thread (www.thoughtonathread.co.uk)

The bracelets link communities overseas with the people living in the Ufafa district. We have been given them by Trish Bartley, a wonderful woman who is a development consultant and mindfulness trainer working with Woza Moya this week. We tell the children that the bracelets help remind us to be present when experiencing stress and difficulty. They also connect us with those wearing identical threads in the UK and America who are thinking of them and sending hopes that they are happy, safe, peaceful, and well.

Liz leads the group in a couple exercises that they can take with them after the workshop has ended: exploring contact with the ground and connecting thoughts with others. They are simple activities that will hopefully provide the children with tools to manage the many difficulties they encounter. Surprisingly, the entire group takes the exercises seriously in quiet contemplation. Some even ask for an additional bracelet to give to their brother or sister who was absent! Afterwards, Alice gives them one final present: a red sponge clown nose that seems to evoke more laughter than expected as they pop off and on faces bouncing around the classroom. The calm atmosphere dissolves into giggles, songs, and games. It is perhaps a fitting closing to our residency here in Ixopo, and though I am a bit sad to be leaving, there is already talk about returning next year for an even more extended time. “Awoogah! Awoogah!”

Alice’s Journal: Aug 31st

…some mornings I wake up and think….okay, here goes….
But then I make some kids smile and laugh and it’s like “yup, this is where I’m supposed to be right now”. I love performing for the kids out here. Jamie has been enouraging me to walk funny and trip as we set up for the show. Often he’ll walk past a group of kids and drop his hat off on one of them and they’ll burst out laughing. Then Jamie turns to Liz and I and says, “that gets ‘em everytime!”. The kids here love to laugh and play. I get such a warm feeling performing out here. You know you’ve brought them joy and happiness. As we drive past the kids in our truck (with giant “clowns without border” logos), the kids shout out songs from the show and ” Awoogah! Awoogah” (from the horn routine in the show). They will run after the truck with smiles on their faces. I keep hoping the goats will join the fan club and start running after the truck….no such luck yet….

Beautiful Moment number 1: hearing the cries of Awoogah Awoogah from the village

The past week we had the OVC (orphans and vulnerable children) create and perform short plays about their life dreams. They used the various acting tools we taught them and even incorporated some traditional gospel songs. The songs are what really touched me. These kids sang with such heart and passion…. it was like nothing I have ever heard. Some kids who covered their face two weeks ago when asked to say their name in front of the group, now stood up stong and announced their dreams. It was rewarding for all. Sometimes I forget that I’m in the midsts of children who have suffered great loss are orphaned. I just see them smiling and growing stronger.

 
Yesterday was our last day with the Gogos and the OVC (orphans and vulnerable children). We met at Sinevuso, a school close to Woza Moya, and we had our last class together. We all did warm up together and then reflected on their weeks with us. Overall, it seems the children gained confidence and happiness from our time with them. We presented them with www.thoughtonathread.co.uk, which is a black string bracelet with a red bead. A way for good vibes to be sent to each other and especially to the children here. Trish, an amazing woman we met, who was working with Woza Moya, developed this beautiful concept. We then presented all the children with clown noses! Man, they looked good! The best was when they all started singing their songs and the noses kept falling off and bouncing around…That’s Comedy!!!

Beautiful Moment number 2: Thembi, our amazing translator and a caregiver of the children at Woza Moya, wearing the shawl we gave her. She looked stunning standing in front of the valley with the purple, blue and pink wrapped around her.

So this morning I woke up in The Patch. We are staying in this cottage in Boston, owned by Helen Smetherham. She is the widow of Rob Smetherhan. And this next week we will be working at the Rob Smetherhan Bereavement Service for Children. We will be teaching the children there and performing shows around the area. The cottage is super cosy and I woke up this moring to the sound of cows mooing. This place is crawling with cows! It’s like I”m home in Alberta, only everyone speaks Zulu. I miss the monkeys…. the cows aren’t quite as interesting to watch.

Beautiful Moment number 3: Liz and Jamie singing a traditional gospel song at breakfast this morning. Liz was determined to learn it and she does it beautifully. My granola tasted better because of them.

August 26th

So here I am at a cafe in South Africa….in Umzumbe. It’s our first weekend off. We are staying at a backpacker’s lodge. We are right beside the ocean, which we will be visiting later today. Jamie and I are gonna crash into waves and build the world’s largest sandcastle!

Where to begin….
The plane ride was long and the jet lag was thick. Johannesburg was like a new planet to me. Everyone has gates or really high walls around their houses. Lots of scared rich people. It’s spring here…but it feels like a Canadian summer to me. We, Liz, Jamie and I, created a show at Jamie’s Grandfather’s place.

 
Screw up 1: Showering before Grandpa and he couldn’t get in the bathroom
We hit the road to start out work in Kwazulu Natal (might I remind you I speak NO Zulu, language barrier here I come!). We checked into the Buddhist Retreat Center and settled into our own rooms. Jamie and Liz went to meditate, I watched the monkeys in the trees (they’re all over the place).

 
Screw up 2: Stepping in monkey poo.

This past week we did performances in the mornings (total of 5 for high schools, junior highs and elementary schools). They loved us and in turn, we loved them! It was so wild to watch my fellow clowns bring huge amounts of laughter and joy to children in the townships.

 
Our clowns show is very a la European clowning (in other words, very Charlie Chaplin, with lots of routines, falls, magic tricks and stuff coming out of Jamie’s mouth… clown noses, hankies etc…and out of his pants…rubber chickens, horns etc….) Liz plays a Zubuphonewhich we have gotten lots of joke millage out of), Jamie plays banjo and I play accordion. Liz and I also play doctors in the show. As we are performing the show to lots of children who are affected by HIV/AIDS, or have someone close to them dealing the virus, we make light of the scariness of a visit to the hospital. Also, we focus on women’s empowerment by having female doctors. At the end of the show we create a Gogo (caregiver or grandmother) puppet out of a balloon and have it play with a volunteer. In the end the puppet bursts and the clowns deal with death through grieving, compassion and laughter. I’m so happy and blessed to be a part of this show. My favorite part is rehearsing. I laugh so hard I cry. Jamie and Liz are so hilarious, patient and inspiring.

 
Screw up 3: When doing a magic trick, don’t accidentally reveal the secrets to the audience….um…oups.
Afternoons were spent with the OVC (orphans and vulnerable children) at the Woza Moya Center. Everyday there was between 30-36 children, who have lost either one or both parents, that come to the center and play with us. We also make the children sandwiches and juice. Through games and theater we are working with them on their life dreams. All the children told us what they hope to be when they grow up, from president, to doctor, police officer and my favorite ‘drive a ship in the ocean’. Everyday we take turns leading the group in different exercises and improvs. We have a translator, Thembe, to help with the instruction. By the end of the week, the children had grown more fearless and their laughter fuller. Two mornings were spent with the Gogos. Liz took them through a visualization exercise and we had them recount their favorite memories from childhood. At then end of our sessions with the OVCs and the Gogos, they sing and pray together. And the valleys of the townships are more beautiful because of them.

Screw up 4: Not coming here sooner.
On Monday we return for another week with the Gogos, the OVCs and performing in the townships. I’m so grateful to be with these amazing clowns, giving laughter to beautiful people…

Jamie’s Journal: Aug 26th.

We are back in South Africa having just completed our first week of teaching and performing in the rural hills of Ufafa, KwaZulu/Natal. We are collaborating with the Woza Moya Project (www.wozamoya.org.za), a community based action and support program that does amazing work providing counseling and assistance to those who have been affected by HIV/AIDS. In this area lying between the Drakensberg Mountains in the west and the Indian Ocean in the east, the HIV/AIDS infection rate is close to 50% of the population. A recent survey at the regional hospital found 80% of the patients to have HIV. Needless to say, the affect on the lives of the children is immediate – having to care for their sick parents, growing up without a mother and/or father, and living with their grandmothers (Gogos) or next of kin. Likewise, the stress of taking care of additional children as well as carrying the grief of losing a loved one plagues upon the lives of the Gogos who must bare the weight of responsibility to nurture the next generation.

Our work this week has broken new ground for Clowns Without Borders Project Njabulo in many ways. We have incorporated more themes of the effects of HIV/AIDS into our performances with a routine about going to the doctor as well as a magically constructing a “Gogo” puppet out of a balloon. After our shows, Thembe Mweli, Woza Moya’s lead Child Minder, gives a brief talk about how the performance relates to directly to the lives of the children. We have also been conducting workshops for both the Gogos and their children as part of Woza Moya’s Thandanani Time (Love One Another Time). These workshops attempt to relieve the stress of their daily lives and find hope in the future through play, laughter, and sharing of one’s experience. With the Gogos, we explore memories of childhood and overcoming challenges in their lives. With the 30 orphans and vulnerable children that come to the Woza Moya centre each day, we use theatre and games over a 10 day period to bring to life their Life Dreams in the present moment. Below is a description of our last workshop this week in which things turned out a little differently!

August 25, 2006 Ufafa, KwaZulu/Natal

The rain strikes the tin roof of Nomsembenzi’s chapel in sheets of unexpected torrents due to an early arriving wet season. Liz Turkel, Alice Nelson, and I sit on benches with seven of the Gogos who managed to make the journey from the warm fires of their rondaavels (homes) to the rectangular squat building that sits on a hillside across the valley from Woza Moya. We are in a bit of a quandary as to what to do. Thembe, our partner from Woza Moya who helps with the session and translation in particular, cannot join us as she must attend a meeting at Cekazi Primary School.

Alice presents a note in isiZulu explaining that we are sorry but will have to meet next week. But here we are. It makes no sense to leave at this moment. And for the short time, everyone is dry and warm. I look at the grandmothers wrapped in their colorful head scarves, dresses, sweaters, and towels and realize that we have a unique opportunity to connect physically without words. Scrapping our lesson plan, we hand out oranges and baloney sandwiches and sit in silence while they eat a mid-morning snack. Without knowing what comes next, I say “Asembeni” which means “We must go.”

Then we all stand as Annatoria recites a prayer in thanks. Suddenly, I remember a song I learned way back in high school that would fit the occasion and begin singing “Siyahamba Khukenele Kwen Kos” (We are Marching in the Light of God). Everyone joins in with Liz singing beautiful harmony. Bodies begin to move to the rhythm of the melody. Smiles break out and feet dance shuffle step. Miriam Makeba songs follow – “Jikele Ma Weni,” “Nomeva,” “Nqonqontwane” – and surprisingly, even though the songs are in Xhosa, the Gogos remember these popular songs from their youth. Liz shares a Zulu lullaby. Thokozile leads the group in a children’s song inspiring Alice and I to start a hand jive which we they are eager to learn. Soon, over an hour has passed sharing and playing and enjoying each other’s company without us realizing the passing of time. The women carry such an enormous weight upon their shoulders. To experience us all dancing and laughing with joy as playful as children is part of the magic that happens unexpectedly on these expeditions. Sometimes, the inspiration of the moment strikes closer to our intentions and the truth than any well thought out lesson plan.

It could not be more apparent than today. Finally, I stand once again and say “Asembeni” knowing that this time, it is not premature. It is time to go. Meals to prepare, housekeeping to take care of, livestock to tend before the children come home from school and the rain washes us all out.

Later in the afternoon, the steady rain continues to feed the thirsty land. Mud puddles have formed along side the road. Mists rolls over the hills. Cows take to the timber company forests for shelter. Once again, we are without Thembe. On Friday’s Woza Moya works until 1:00 PM but we have scheduled a workshop with the 30 orphans and vulnerable children at three so must do without translation.

We pull our bakkie (our brand new pickup donated by Imperial Car Rental) in front of Sinevuso High School. The gate is locked. Nobody in sight. Tired from our first week of performing for over 2500 schools students and teaching 6 workshops, we do not want to leave the Buddhist Retreat Centre where we are staying but look forward to a weekend away to allow our bodies to catch up. But with 35 baloney sandwiches and apples sitting in our car, we cannot just leave so we wait by the gate.

Sure enough, ten of the children run up to the bakkie shivering and drenched to the bone. We quickly spring out with towels and sandwiches drying their faces and filling their bellies. Their commitment melts my heart but I tell them in broken isiZulu to go home before they catch a cold. “The gate is locked! Asembeni!” A bit disappointed the children disappear over the hillside. However, seconds later, they come running back with a key. Half wishing we could just hit the road, I pull the bakkie into the school grounds and shake my mind from its laziness. This is what we are here for. The bright faces of the children with rain drops covering their hair and clothes is enough to remind me that these children are thirsty for nurturing relationships. We are only with them for 10 days and cannot afford to let them miss this opportunity to play and have fun as a community.

Their commitment spurs our own. We make a circle in a dry classroom and start jumping up and down shaking our bodies warm. The session is perhaps the most fun we have had all week. Without relying on translation, our activities must be more creative and aware. We group juggle – balls flying across the room. Lift a magic hoop together. Pass gestures around in a circle. From “Ngiyaguthanda” (I love you) to “Amandla Awethu” (power to the people).

Alice leads the children in a trust exercise where the children walk with eyes closed across the circle. We play cat and mouse. Animal characters. Just have fun. Even the older students who are not part of our group join in with the games. Again, time flies by. Once more it is really time to go - the children have chores to do and the rain is coming down with greater urgency. A prayer of thanks to close our time together. One last song. Siyahamba.

As we carefully steer down the winding roads and out onto the main highway leading to Ixopo, we are filled with the warmth of the children’s smiles and their gogo’s laughter. We can only hope that as the cold wind whistles through their huts and rondaavels, they also have sweet dreams of our time together.