South Africa, November/December 2004
Report: 22 Shows in 23 days – 3,000 orphans
Participants: Jamie McLaren Lachman, Tim Cunningham, Liz Turkel,
Jonathan Gunning
Gracie steps on the stage with a shy smile displaying
a gap between her front teeth. She shakes hands with a clown
who presents a shiny, brass taxi horn instead of his hand.
“Honk! Honk!” She jumps back in surprise as the
crowd roars with laughter. After a series of magic tricks
and acrobatics, she finds herself standing on the clown’s
shoulders to wild applause. Beaming with confidence and achievement,
she returns to her friends in the audience with a red nose
clutched tightly in her hand. An orphan living with HIV/AIDS
at Beautiful Gate Children’s Home in Crossroads, South
Africa,
Gracie has become a clown for a day with Clowns Without Borders.
Parade with orphans from Baphumelele in Khayelitsha near
Cape Town.
Overview The Expedition to South Africa
was Clowns Without Borders first mission to the region. Four
clowns – Jamie McLaren Lachman (Project Coordinator),
Elizabeth Turkel, Tim Cunningham, and Jonathan Gunning –
participated in the trip which lasted from November 20th to
December 12th. They performed 22 times for over 3,500 orphans
affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis, working with 16 different
local community aid organizations traveling over 5,000 miles
through Mpumalanga, KwaZulu/Natal, the Free State, Lesotho,
and the Western Cape.
Mission
The mission of this expedition was to provide emotional relief
to South African children who are affected by the HIV/AIDS
epidemic and poverty. Underscoring this objective were four
points of focus: 1) to perform for as many children as possible
and bring laughter and healing for a brief moment in their
lives; 2) to establish connections with local grassroots organizations
that are working to alleviate the suffering of communities
due to the HIV/AIDS crisis on a daily basis; 3) to connect
local performers to these organizations so that celebrations
of laughter can continue on a more frequent basis after the
expedition is over; and 4) to gather information and assess
the situation in South Africa in order develop future expeditions
to the region.
Itinerary
We flew into Johannesburg from New York and Dublin, rehearse
for two days at Jamie’s grandfather’s house, and
then head northeast to Mpumalanga, a province north of Swaziland
and west of Mozambique. In Malelane, we were joined by South
African based performer, Garth, at Amazing Grace Children’s
Home, an orphanage for 55 children from all over Southern
Africa, and conducted a successful workshop on juggling using
stones found outside in a field. Then our team headed for
KwaZulu/Natal where we worked with Ingwavuma Orphan Care in
the highlands north of Durban, the Sibusisiwe Orphan Community
Project in Ntandabantu – an area stricken by drought
for the past 2 and a half years, St. Philomena’s Orphanage
in Durban, Pietermaritzburg Child Welfare Society, Howick
Hospice in Mphophomeni township, and the Woza Moya Project.
In Ntandabantu, we led a brief workshop on creating the sound
of rain with our bodies which amazingly culminated in a brief
shower as we drove away. Our time in the Mphophomeni was especially
memorable with home stays in the township with members of
the community. After KwaZulu/Natal, our mission took us to
the Free State – a bastion of Afrikaneer culture and
the Sotho people. We briefly visited Lebone Land in Bloemfoentein
performing for their preschool graduation and then to Ficksburg
where we performed an exhausting five shows in one day including
a visit to a children’s ward at a hospital in Lesotho
and at a fancy dinner party for members of the local Rotary
Club who were our hosts. Finally, we had a long drive to Cape
Town for site visits with Beautiful Gate in Crossroads and
Muizenberg, Baphumelele Orphan’s home, and the Homestead
Street Children Project. Then, we hauled our donated Nissan
Sentra (which was packed to the brim and on its last legs)
back to Johannesburg where the team dissolved after an exhausting
but thoroughly blessed expedition.
Nov 18-19 Arrive in Johannesburg
Nov 20 Nelspruit, Masoyi Home Based Care, 900
Nov 21 Malelane, Amazing Grace Children’s Home, 55,
workshop
Nov 22 Ingwavuma, Ingwavuma Orphan Care, 600
Nov 24 Ntandabantu, Sibusisiwe Orphan Community Project, 150
Nov 25 Durban, St Philomena’s, 200
Nov 26 Mphophomeni, Howick Hospice, 200
Nov 27-28 Weekend off
Nov 29 Ixopo, Woza Moya Project, 200
Nov 30 Pietermaritzburg, Pietermaritzburg Child Care Society,
200
Dec 1 Ixopo, Woza Moya Project, 200
Dec 2 Drive to Free State
Dec 3 Bloemfoentein, Lebone Land, 150
Dec 4 Ficksburg, Sunshine Organization, Lesotho Hospital,
Rotary Club, 500
Dec 5-6 Drive to Cape Town
Dec 7 Crossroads, Beautiful Gate, 150
Dec 8 Khayelitsha, Baphumelele, 150
Dec 9 Muizenberg, Beautiful Gate, 12
Dec 10 Cape Town, Homestead Street Children Project, 40
Dec 11 Return to Johannesburg
Workshop after a performance at Amazing Grace Children’s
Home, Malelane.
The Situation
The condition of children in South Africa is desperate due
to HIV/AIDS and poverty, especially in the rural areas in
KwaZulu/Natal and border towns near Swaziland, Lesotho, and
Mozambique. As it has been widely reported, the South African
government has been slow to respond to the AIDS crisis in
the region. There are few clinics and even less governmental
support for children who have been either abandoned or left
orphaned due to the high fatality in the region. According
to a 2002 study by the Center for Disease Control, South Africa
has one of the highest rates of HIV positive individuals in
the world (11% of the country’s population). Of the
estimated 4.8 million South Africans living with HIV, 85%
are between 25 to 40 years old – depriving households
and children of principle caregivers. As a result, there is
an estimated 420,000 children living without parents due to
the virus. At this rate, 1.6 million more will be orphaned
by AIDS by the year 2008.
Race is still a huge issue in South Africa. There also exists
a dichotomy between white humanitarian workers and the black
population which they serve. Many of the organizations we
worked with were run by white South African women who volunteered
many hours of difficult service to help alleviate the suffering
of children orphaned by AIDS and their parents. We found that
there is yet to be real empowerment for the people who come
from the African communities. On the other hand, the orphanages
were operated primarily by African women. Whether our experience
and contact with organizations run by whites was due to accessibility
to the internet or that this is the norm in South Africa remains
to be seen.
The fact that our team was composed of four Caucasian performers
added an unforeseen welcomed element to our work. Many of
the children had never seen white people dressed in our costumes
and acting like clowns before – never mind for their
benefit. Often, we would arrive at a site and emerge out of
the car to instant laughter without doing anything. As a result,
we were able to break down some misconceptions of racial behavior
and barriers that normally exist between whites and blacks
in post-Apartheid South Africa. Our attempts at learning Zulu
and Xhosa also had a beneficial effect on the expedition.
We noticed that it meant a lot to both children and adults
if we spoke in their language first before using English to
communicate.
The loss of primary caregivers causes deep emotional scars
to many orphaned children. Beyond basic needs such as food
and education, these children need emotional support, protection
and a sense of belonging. While many find care from relatives,
especially grandparents, some children either take care of
themselves in their homes, become street children in urban
areas, or join foster homes and orphanages. In Pietermaritzburg,
the Child Welfare Society told us that foster parents actually
receive more government funding than single parents or next
of kin resulting in the abandonment of young children due
the inability to provide for them. In addition, the increasing
population of orphans also far outnumbers the capacity of
many orphanages that are financially struggling to provide
services. In Khayelitsha outside of Cape Town, Rosalia Sibulelu
Mashale of Baphumelele must rely on untrained volunteer child
workers to care for abandoned infants. Likewise, Amazing Grace
Children’s Home in Malelane, Mpumalanga, provides shelter,
food, and nurturing for over 50 children from all over Southern
Africa even though she only has funding for 35.
In the orphanages, especially, as well as across the board,
we were met by children who were extremely hungry for affection
and attention. Often, a hand would slip into ours or we would
hold a child in our arms for some time. Upon arrival to a
site, our reception varied from laugher or silent curiosity
before each performance. There were numerous occasions in
which we each surrounded by a crowd of children wanting to
interact with us before and after shows. In Southern Africa,
it is important to note that audiences do not leave after
a performance but remain sitting almost as if they are expecting
more. We sometimes would improvise for an additional hour
and a half after a show to the delight of the children until
exhaustion would finally force us to say goodbye. Singing
and dancing was very popular at these times as well as call-and-response.
At other times, a workshop was conducted immediately after
the show. It wasn’t uncommon for the children to also
perform for us in appreciation of our work. In the end, leaving
a site was difficult as the need for emotional relief persisted
after temporarily being lifted.
Visit http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_22212.html
for the joint report by UNICEF, UNAIDS, and USAID on the affects
of HIV/AIDS on children and a proposed plan of action for
more information.
The “Map Routine” in Ixopo with the Woza Moya
Project.
The Show
Our first shows were with the Masoyi Home Based Care project
in the hills just outside of Kruger National Park. Arriving
the next morning in incredible summer African heat, we find
200 children crowded in the shade under a solitary tree in
the middle of a field. The field is strewn with plastic bags
and bottles but we manage to clear away a performance area
and begin our show, Pata Pata, named after the popular dance
from Johannesburg: a parade with ukulele-banjo, drums, concertina,
harmonica; Tim wows them with juggling tricks and acrobatics;
then, a Jamie begins blowing bubbles moving through the audience
allowing the children to blow bubbles themselves. The atmosphere
is magically serene until Jonathan interrupts by swallowing
the bubbles quickly becoming “intoxicated” with
laughter. Liz takes command with a map of South Africa. But
where are the clowns? They cannot decide where on the map
they are which leads them into a series of hijinks with a
matador and three angry bulls. Then we segue into a newspaper
routine followed by a chase culminating in the selection of
a brave volunteer who is brought onstage for a magic routine.
The magic goes “badly” as planned and to save
face, we produce a balloon to give to the child who is wide
eyed in wonder. We try and try to blow up the balloon finally
creating a human pump that blows it up too enthusiastically
until “POP!” Silence. All four of us burst out
into tears. We gather the pieces and process into the audience
accompanied by a musical saw and the ukulele-banjo. After
a brief benediction on the behalf of a bereaved balloon, we
bury it in the center of the audience. The music crescendos
into a climax of dancing and celebration ala New Orleans stomp
to the children’s delightful laughter. Other routines
follow: drinking bad water, the suitcase that won’t
move, stuck in a bucket, until our finale – a dance
celebration to the song “Pata Pata” involving
the entire audience. At this point, we are drenched with sweat
and in need of a break. However, as we discovered time after
time, the children do not leave when the show is over. Instead,
they remain in the field as expecting more; not to disappoint,
Tim and Jamie return and improvise for another 45 minutes.
Audience looks on in the Masoyi district of Mpumalanga
on our first day.
This period of improvisation proves to be invaluable as we
were able to create new routines and insert them in the main
show replacing the ones that didn’t go over as well.
A horn orchestra is born as is a two-high acrobatic routine.
One of our most successful routines comes out of this: the
Last Banana, a piece performed by Jonathan which involved
an adult member of the audience who, in the native language
of the children, explains to Jonathan that this is the last
banana in Africa and must be guarded until Madiba (Nelson
Mandela) comes. Of course, Jonathan cannot help himself and
after many fits and starts, he starts to eat the banana. We
chase him off as he thrusts it into the arms of a child. One
time, this proved to be a gift from the heavens. The young
boy began to eat the banana which made the clowns very upset
until Jamie remarked, “maybe, this is the next Mandela,”
to the applause of the audience.
Bringing a volunteer on stage in Crossroads, Cape Town.
There is much work to be done both here and overseas and it
will take many hours of dedication in order to ensure that
the celebrations of laughter were not a mere flash in the
pan but a beginning of a sustained relationship of emotional
healing through joy and happiness for years to come. Our work
in Southern Africa has only just begun. The HIV/AIDS epidemic
continues to spread, wreaking havoc on communities throughout
the region. The rate of abandoned children and their suffering
grows daily at an exponential rate. Yet, there is hope. A
smile can break through the darkness of isolation, fear, and
depression. After our last performance at The Homestead Project
in Cape Town, we were deeply moved by a heightened awareness
that our expedition was both blessed and a blessing for all
involved. A magic moment occurred at every one of our site
visits. It was the magic of love blossoming through laughter.
It shone in the eyes and faces of the children, in the steadfast
conviction and sacrifice of the community workers, and in
the hearts of the four clowns who traveled thousands of miles
to bring happiness one child at a time.
Parade in Mphophomeni township near Howick, KwaZulu/Natal.
“Your sacrifice has brightened the lives of these children,
many of whom come from and are living in desperate circumstances.
Thank you for the time, effort, and personal sacrifice that
it has cost you to come and entertain our children today.
You have been a blessing to Beautiful Gate and are always
welcome in the future!”
Vaughan Stannard, Community Coordinator from Beautiful Gate
in Crossroads, Cape Town
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