PARTNERS

Worldwide Orphans (WWO) – is transforming the lives of children and communities in need. They provide education, medical care, and psycho-social support in their local communities so that they can become confident, competent, thriving adults who will change the world around them.

ABOUT

CWBSA and sister chapter, CWB-USA, proposed an intervention strategy with WWO laying out a plan of action for building WWO’s staff capacity in implementing CWBSA’s intervention methodology in Addis Ababa. This initial partnership was planned for February 2010 as a preliminary “fact-finding” mission in which both organisations would learn more about each other’s programmes and intervention methods. It was also an opportunity to introduce CWBSA’s innovative arts-based intervention methodology to affected children, guardians, caregivers, and other support service providers. Artistically, the performances were based in nonverbal physical comedy with a little Amharic included for comic effect. CWBSA performances are presented in a non-didactic or informational manner in which the audience is free to interpret their own meanings from the different routines. However, the routines did raise issues of poverty, hunger, power, gender, and experiencing death – albeit, in a metaphorical sense through the lens of humour and play. Audience participation was integral to the performances both with audience volunteers and through audience interaction.

FEEDBACK FROM BENEFICIARIES & PARTNER

“It is good to have you here at the school. Especially these kids, a lot of them are very poor and from very difficult lives. It is important for them to laugh. Amassagganlo. Thank you for the show. I am looking forward to the workshop on Thursday. I hope you will be coming back again soon!”

– WWO Primary School Teacher