Clowning for smile - Nairobi Hospital Project

        One of the most touching parts of our Performers Without Borders project was for sure each visit in the Jomo Kenyatta Hospital. As a child I've spend months in different hospitals having different health issues. Now I felt like I can take part in giving back some joy to those suffering children. 

           Our task was to walk around rooms with songs on our mouth, gather the youth for the show that some incredible clowns from "Smiles for change" prepared, in which we also took part and visit the burn unit. There were waiting for some time of laughs the ones that couldn't leave their rooms. 

Some of the hospital and "Smiles for change" staff

The work in hospital is filled with dualities. On one side there is US - colorful, laughing, doing circus tricks and smiling at every one around. For being the Rainbow Creatures we get applause and smiles back. And we know exactly why we are there. To give a Little bit of sparkle to the ones that are struggling for years with catastrophies, unfortunate accidents, powerlessness and exhaustion. They get from us a tiny shot of endorfines that are being kept asleep because of the serious conditions. They stay frozen in the corner of the mouth and in tired eyes without seeing a purpose of releasing themselves. Thanks to us, there might be an explosion of happiness hormones that brings a laughing relaxation. Laughter is precious, cause it helps to survive the hardest times. 

Arts&craft activity

On the other side - those CHILDREN. With scars all over their faces and necks, covered with bandages after burns, stuffed with medicaments until numbness, with blown bellys in which fearlessly grows deadly cancer. There is a fog of sickness, sadness, hopelessness and a huge hope at the same time. A hope in parents of this adorable, loving being that in some cases have just been born, that has all the life filled with possibilities. A hope that the light might shine for him that would brighten the labyrinth of future. But a parent that keeps feeding himself with those hopes, everyday sees suffering and deteriorating conditions of his sunshine. The death of other children whose voices just yesterday were resounding from over-packed rooms, from between beds surrounded with machines, pipes and sweaty bedsheets. And this parent despite the doubts has to be strong for his Child and assure everyday, support and encourage to live, convince that constant suffering makes sense, that it is worth living, because maybe one Day it will pass. How difficult is persistence between terrifying truth, uncertain future and shy but strong hope ?

This is why we did our Best to give all of them some safe space to forget even for few minutes about their worries. It was extremely rewarding to see children engaged in the dance, laughing at clowning gags and being amazed with Magic tricks. Sometimes with a glimpse of an eye we could see a parent crying silently somewhere in the corner of the room. Maybe from joy of Seeing his Child happy, maybe just taking advantage of few minutes on his own. Either way, crying is cleansing and they need it for sure...

 The experience of clowning in hospitals had a huge impact on my emotional resistance and ability of seeing good parts of any situation. I was also delighted to work with some local clowns from "Smiles for change" organisation. It is heartwarming to know that the Children have constant dose of joy brought each week by very talented and professional artists.

Remeber how important it is to appreciate each healthy moment of your life and never forget to smile to the ones that you Love <3

Here you can get to know more about Hospital Clowning in Nairobi from its source:

https://sarakasi.org/programmes/smiles-for-change/

Don't be worried, be human

         Going out of your comfort zone gives  the opportunity to find human beings so diverse that it would be hard to just get to know them while walking the street or ordering a smoothie in your home town. Especially that talking to strangers in some places seems inappropriate...

   However, when you are in a travelling mode, new friendships happen by themselves. "Your vibe attracts your tribe" as they say. I was extremely lucky to meet in Kenya two soulmates that showed me even more of how easy it can be to spread smiles around by being open to any person that you meet.

With Benja, watching stunning view on Hell's Gate gorge

           Before coming to Africa I had to listen to many warnings that made me feel quite stressed. I couldn't imagine myself travelling and not getting into conversations with people on the street. I was wondering: How will I get to know the country if I am not allowed to meet with locals because I am a girl, white and tiny and have no self-defense skills? It made me really anxious.
         And then the universe put me in one apartment for 6 weeks with Danni and Benja who made my worries disappear with their lovely laughs and loud way of speaking.
         Wherever we went, they were acting like they were friends with all the traders at the market, staff in hotels, people in matatu. I have to admit, some locals are very friendly but some of them look at us - wazungu - as if they would like to kill us or at least torture for hours or they just seems extremely tired with life. Even with them my friends could create a close relation by simply showing them attention, throw some jokes, use their swahili skills. And it was working!

       

   With Danni, after a fashion show during our project with refugees from Somalia and Ethiopia

       It is really easy to put a smile on someone's face, but sometimes it requires some effort. During our stay in Nairobi Danni was a Master of small chat, with her huge amount of energy and ability of asking tones of questions. She would make everyone laugh at themselves or at her. And she would always show respect and appreciation of the person she met. This powerful woman living her live between continents, changing jobs with each flight, creating her live as it goes, taught me how to be flexible, thankful and always keep on going with a huge smile on your face. Because if you will smile, others will smile to you. What bad can happen from a smiley interaction?

With Peter, our local guide at Hell's Gate. Such a lovely smiling boy! 

         As Benja was saying You will always get something from interacting. If you don't - you get nothing. And aren't we travelling to get this SOMETHING in our memory? A story, an experience, a thought, a friendship, an adventure, even a stressful or scary moment. For that we travel - for that we should live.
      Himself for sure lives for sharing with others. He would always find an opportunity to give, without wanting to receive anything back. This approach in combination with ability to make fun of himself and make others feel noticed filled our travels with small lovely moments with locals.
         During the time I've spent with them I could notice how easy it can be to break the pattern of a white tourist and to stay in minds of the people from our path as wazungu that actually care and respect. Wazungu that are also people, like the locals, not only cash machines filling their bellys and bags with more and more goods.
 

Our Performers Without Borders team on a Valentine's Day dinner

    This post is my huge bow to both of them and shows my appreciation for their loving hearts that keep on beating in the rhythm of Kumala Vista song.
       Thank you for giving me safe space to open myself for you and others and forgetting about worries from the regular world. Thank you for your crazyness, I shall follow it!

For all the readers, if you feel like sometimes in your everyday life you close yourself too much in your own world and don't aknowledge the people around - try one day to smile to someone on the street or start a conversation in a bus or while waiting in a line with someone that seems interesting to you.
And let me know how did it go!

Social circus in Nairobi

It is incredible how many new possibilities appeared since I've started practicing circus and Flow arts. For almost 3 years now it became my new passion that keeps on bringing inspiring people on my path and showing me how to develop my body, mind and soul.

 The main reason why I came to Kenya is participation in a 6 weeks social circus project with NGO Performers Without Borders. Being chosen as a part of this tour is another step in learning how to teach circus and seeing the remarkable influence it has on people in the poorest areas.

WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE? 

The group of 6 people (now 5 cause one of us decided to come back home) from USA, UK, Ireland and Poland is training with acrobats and youth in circus space called Sarakasi. The project we take part in takes place for 13 years already and each year different crew is coming here to share their knowledge with local artists and street children in the slums. 

Kenyan acrobats have an amazing drive to train and they seem to have no fear and never get tired! During our everyday warm up at 9a.m. they are doing front rolls, back rolls, cartwheels, walk-overs, handsprings, hand to hand and two-high on a floor without any matress or spotting. For me it was shocking in the beginning HOW CAN YOU NOT BE SCARED? But after 3 weeks of working with them I understood that this is just how they are used to train. And the fact that they have any safe space to do all these crazy jumps is better than having nothing. Working with them is teaching me to appreciate all the comfort of an european life. Moreover, their attitude during training is unbelievable. "JUST TRY" - we hear it each time any doubts about our acrobatic skills are filling us with fear. This is how they learn here - if you don't have a coach that will teach you the technique,you have to keep on trying and at some point it will work. Seeing everyday the inner power of those extremely strong acrobats is giving me a lesson of pushing myself to achieve the impossible and never give up. 

During the project we are focusing on sharing with them our knowledge about professional performing, building the characters and preparing a show. We are teaching them clowning, hooping, staff, Theatre, juggling and proper acrobatics technique. It is challenging and interesting at the same time. Importance of our cooperation is based on bringing parts of the artistic world that for us is an everyday reality to the performers that have really minimal contact with anything else than building complicated acrobatics pyramids. 

Except the acrobats training, we are working with few organisation that provide after school classes in slums and are working with street children - educating them, taking care of their health and reclaiming them. This work for me is an experience that is changing the way of looking at all life aspects from completely different perspective. 

When it comes to running classes with street children it is easy to notice that they have gone through some strong experiences in their lives. Some of them have many scars and burns. Some of them are glue addicts, so during any activity they would stay with the coca cola bottle filled with shoe glue in their mount or in their pockets.

Some children in the slum areas are only walking barefoot, wearing very dirty clothes that you can tell haven't been washed for a long time. All this from distance looks really miserable. However, we are coming there with the power of circusy happiness that is giving us the access to these children's Play Space, to their world of fun and laughter where the conditions don't make any difference. 

Seeing these children rolling in muddy ground, running around in the area surrounded with trash and playing with each other regardless the age is a great confirmation of the fact that our happiness depends only on our perspective. Because of someone from outside of those poor areas or from richer countries, the conditions that Kenyan children are growing in might seem terrifying. But for them it is just everyday reality that with all it's dirt and hunger does not exclude enjoying the time with friends. 

While teaching these children juggling and playing circus games they are sharing smiles and hugs with everyone around. Their laughter sends sparkles all over and reminds us of our biggest purpose: to start the fire of smiles :)