Hopital Clowning News

The public hospitals in Nablus have completed the transfer of the children's ward from Al-Watani to Rafedia hospital. The facilities are much better, although still in need of many improvements and more advanced equipment. A team of 3 clowns from Assirk Assaghir visited the new ward last week and spent a few hours playing with and cheering up the kids (and parents!). One woman said her daughter had been crying all morning and refused to take her medicine. After playing with the clowns she started laughing and forgot her pain. She later asked her mother to call the doctor because she was ready to take her medicine.

During the summer vacation, when many clown trainees are free, Assirk Assaghir will increase the frequency of visits like this to the hospitals.

Girls Training

Previously, the circus has encountered problems with female students dropping out of the program once they reach their early teen years as a result of the conservative culture in Nablus, making it unacceptable for teen boys and girls to practice sports together. In order to keep the girls involved, Assirk Assaghir began all-female classes taught by a female instructor.
In January, during the students' mid-semester vacation from school, two female circus artists from Sweden came to the Nablus Circus School to train this new group of teen girls. They gave daily trainings and worked with the girls toward a show that they performed in a neighborhood center for an audience of children and women. The show included acrobatic numbers, Chinese plates, juggling, poi, drumming and human pyramids. This 2-week program inspired the girl students to continue with circus training and gave them a chance to be on stage for the first time, boosting their confidence and sparking their creativity. Assirk Assaghir has continued classes for this group and hopes to repeat this program in the summer.

Hospital Clown Project News

In January of 2010, a group of Swedish clowns from Assirk Assaghir's partner organization, Clowns Without Borders, gave a 2-week workshop for teenage students in hospital clowning. This initiative is part of a program to train students to be clowns for children in hospitals in Nablus, especially those children suffering from chronic diseases who spend much of their time in the hospital.

20 students ranging in age from 16 to 25 participated in these workshops which included 'introduction to clowning' activities, discussions of where the clown fits in the hospital setting and practical visits to the hospitals. The students progressed during these two weeks in finding their clown character and in working with their surroundings and understanding their audience.

Also during this period, the Swedish trainers visited the main governmental hospital in Nablus numerous times as clowns to spend time with the children. They also performed shows in a center in Askar refugee camp and multiple centers for disabled children in Nablus and Ramallah such as the Red Crescent Society. Students from the workshop participated in many of the shows and held their own show in the Nablus Circus School at the conclusion of the two weeks.

This project will continue into 2010 with more training visits to hospitals and eventually trained clowns that make regular visits to hospitals and centers for disabled children.