Cairo 2008
by Elisa on Mar.03, 2009
under Egypt
Project Egypt visited Cairo, Egypt for the forth year in a row. The majority of the children we saw were refugees from Sudan living in inner-city Cairo. Some other groups we visited were Egyptian orphans, street kids, children with cancer or developmental disabilities and refugees from Iraq, Palestine, Eritrea and other counties.
October
Volunteers: Gwendolyn Rooker, Elisa Lane, Les Rivera and Maggie Manzer (photographer)
Number of Performances: 29
Number of Workshops: 6
Length of Expedition: 21 days
Number of Artists: 4
Total Audience reached: 3,500
Project Overview
Project Egypt visited Cairo, Egypt for the forth year in a row. The majority of the children we saw were refugees from Sudan living in inner-city Cairo. Some other groups we visited were Egyptian orphans, street kids, children with cancer or developmental disabilities and refugees from Iraq, Palestine, Eritrea and other counties. We also performed three free shows at a children’s park open to the public.
This year with the help of professional photographer, Maggie Mazner and professional videographer Les Rivera, we documented our work better then ever before. Maggie was willing to fund her own travel expenses and all the film development expenses. Les posted two videos of our work on www.youtube.com greatly helping Americans understand our mission and the significance of our work. The video can be found by going to youtube and doing a search for “Project Egypt Clowns Without Borders”.
This year we also started training Egyptian and Sudanese adults clowns. When we go back to Cairo in the Fall of 2009, a couple of them will create and perform shows with us. It is our hope that this is just the beginning of a Clowns Without Borders group in Cairo, and that these new clowns will continue brightening the lives of children in Cairo long after we leave. We made contact with many more organizations and communities interested in our work. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and were not able to visit all the communities that requested our show.
The participating artists were Elisa Lane (Project Director/clown), Gwen Rooker (returning clown), Les Rivera (clown and filmmaker) and Maggie Mazner (photographer). Unfortunately, David Odonnell (clown), who went with us last year, was not able to join us because of an injury. We were unsuccessful in getting the airlines to reimburse his ticket.
Our Partners this year were Amera, an organization helping refugees find work, get health care and placing children in schools. American University of Cairo Ma’an Organization, a Sudanese NGO Tadamon Council, an organization trying to bring refugees and marginalized Egyptians together.
Journal
Elisa, Gwen and Les were in Egypt, performing for the Sudanese Refugee Communities in and around Cairo. This is their fourth year performing for children whose families have fled the conflicts in Darfur and Southern Sudan. This year, filmmaker and performer, Les Rivera and photographer Maggie Manzer will be documenting our work and the lives of the refugees.
Children Clapping
October 23rd
Since we last wrote we’ve been performing at schools, disabled youth vocation rehabilitation centers, an orphanage, and a couple shows at a children’s park. We have also been meeting with a group of Egyptian and Sudanese adults interested in becoming clowns and creating their own show to perform for children after we leave. None of the men have had any clowning experience in the past but all are natural comedians. We are so impressed with their abilities as performers and thrilled that they are interested in volunteering their time to make the children of Cairo smile.
Gwen’s update:
We say that laughter is the best medicine. I’ve always enjoyed this sentiment, but my experience clowning for sick children is what really drives the truth of this saying home for me. A few days ago, a pair of very energetic Englishwomen brought us to the children’s cancer ward at the Nasser Institute. It has taken these women two years of bringing in donated hospital equipment and toys to gain the trust of the doctors there, and yet they were prepared to invite us after only a phone conversation. After the show we did at the hospital, the women told us that they were amazed when a particularly sweet little girl chose to sit near the front of the audience without her father and accept the tambourine Les offered her. Before our show, they had never seen her express an interest in anything going on around her. They also told us about a very sick girl who hadn’t gotten out of bed for three weeks until she heard about our show and decided to watch. They said that afterwards, when she returned to her room, she refused help getting back in bed because she wanted to do it herself. What incredible spirit!
Elisa’s update:
One of the many communities we visited over the past week was a disabled youth vocational rehab center called Aghsan El Karma. We arrived at the center in time to join their morning exercises and to pledge allegiance to the red, white, and black Egyptian flag. Then we performed our show, and for extra fun we included some of their exercises in one of the bits. They loved seeing the exercises they do every day being performed by clowns! They were a very attentive audience and gave a few hoots and hollers of encouragement. After the show they decided to include us in a game they were playing. There were two teams: Gwen and I were on Team Farawla, (strawberry,) and Les was on Team Manga, (mango). The caretakers and we clowns enjoyed ourselves as much as the students. It was the perfect amount of healthy competitive game playing for getting us all wound-up.
After the games, our contact at the center showed us around and told us about the unfortunate way disabled people are treated in Egypt. The cultural norm here has been for people to have deep feelings of shame for the handicapped in their community. Many prefer to keep disabled people out of sight and out of mind. The disabled are typically neglected, abused, or abandoned forever in inhumane institutions. Aghsan El Karma is trying to change this. Three of their students went to China this year for the Special Olympics! We had the great honor of meeting the 2nd place champion of ping-pong while we were there.
October 14th
Greetings from Cairo! We’ve been busy at work here making kids happy. Below is an update from Gwen Rooker and photos from our amazing photographer Maggie Manzer. Also, our newest clown addition, Les Rivera, created a super awesome short video of our work.
Gwen’s Update:
There is a feeling I get when I spend time with children that tells me I’m doing something right. This is my fourth trip to Cairo, Egypt as a clown, and still each day spent here is moving. Elisa, Les, Maggie and I spent the first few days of our expedition getting reacquainted with this massive city by the Nile, making performance dates with the many schools and NGO’s that serve disadvantaged children here, and generating the thirty-minute clown show we call “High Five!” The very first place we went was the orphanage for Egyptian girls, Fowler’s. I feel so grateful and relieved to see the girl’s shining faces every time we arrive at the orphanage.
The journeys we make through Cairo everyday in order to perform are arduous and long. Each trip may take one to two hours and may require that we walk or taxi miles with costumes and musical instruments to the metro or bus before riding vast distances under the watchful gaze of millions of Egyptian commuters. When we emerge we do so only to walk again, this time on dirt roads through the poorest neighborhoods, down alleyways, through the outskirts of town, around burning trash and huge puddles from open pipes, so that when we come to the door of a school for the disadvantaged and refugee children of Cairo, our hearts are almost bursting with joy to see the delight in the eyes of those who welcome us inside.
It’s the end of our first week here and we’ve already seen over 1,000 children. We visited Found African Children’s Learning Center for the first time, and the kids applauded wildly for Les and Elisa when they performed their high-flying acrobatic routine. We also made it back to the African Hope Learning Center so the kids there could laugh and delight in our crazy clown antics. One part that all the kids love is when Elisa and I are trying to find Les and he sneaks up behind us and surprises us. Elisa and I jump and scream so that all the kids laugh hysterically. Later, Les makes everyone’s jaws drop in amazement when he walks on his hands and does a HUGE flip onto his feet. His moves are so tight that the kids stand up in their excitement. We wish you could see it too.
Use this form to search the site:
Still not finding what you're looking for? Contact us so we can help!
