Clowns Without Borders - USA

Following the aftermath of the earthquakes of January 12, 2010, Clowns Without Borders international was approached by many organizations working on relief efforts in Haiti. Payasos Sin Fronteras (CWB-Spain) and Clowns San Frontieres (CWB-Canada) immediately sent groups to Haiti in mid-February. In March CWB USA in collaboration with PSF, Plan International, Handicap International and SOS Villages, sent two teams of artists to the work with children and adults whose lives have been devastated by the earthquakes.

In 2010 we were planning four projects in Haiti. These projects would have focused on performances for large and small audiences, workshops for street children in and around Port Au Prince, peer educators who go into their own communities to bring awareness to HIV and AIDS and local performing artists with hopes for empowering Haitians through physical theatre, clown and social circus. After the earthquakes that devastated Haiti on January 12, 2010, our focus shifted. We are now working with our international partners and local NGOs working in Haiti to bring small moments of relief to those affected by the trauma of the earthquakes.

CWB returns to Guatemala and also ventures into El Salvador to work with children and their communities that were hit by Hurricane Stan and Storm Ida. The group will collaborate with Poyecto Payaso and Save the Children.

Building on the successful initial project in Bogota in November 2009, CWB returns to Colombia this November and December to bring relief to the vulnerable children of Colombia.

Rudi will be returning to Chiapas this December through January.

A massive, 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti near the capital of Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, January 12th. The area has since felt many aftershocks making the effects of this disaster hard to fathom. We are doing our best to keep informed and provide assistance as needed. While smiles and laughter are important, at the moment medical aid, shelter, food and water take utmost priority. We hope that with your support we can raise awareness about the gravity of this disaster and mobilize people to support emergency relief efforts. After the earthquakes that devastated Haiti on January 12, 2010, our focus shifted. We are now working with our international partners and local NGOs working in Haiti to bring small moments of relief to those affected by the trauma of the earthquakes.

Colombia has seen as many as 3.8 million people driven from their homes by violence brought on by paramilitary and rebel forces battling for territorial control with the government resulting in Colombia ranking third in the world after Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo for the largest number of internally displaced people (IDPs). This year, Clowns Without Borders-USA will initiate a Project to meet the young people of these communities and other vulnerable children.

Sarah, Tim and Suzanne, along with Dianna and two filmmakers, are now in Cap-Haitien for one week and then off to Port Au Prince for the second week. The project will consist of performances and workshops. Sarah and Tim are thrilled to be returning to Haiti, this will be their first trip back since December 2007. This will be Suzanne’s first project with CWB.

Still in awe of the harsh living conditions that most in Haiti live in, Deven’s blog of Clowns Without Borders project to the poorest country in the western hemisphere attempts to capture some of the experience.

Nick Trotter writes from Chiapas, Mexico where he joined Rudi Galindo on a Clowns Without Borders project in January 2008.