Clowns Without Borders South Africa
2020 Newsletter
Parenting for Lifelong Health(PLH): International Projects
2020 has been an unprecedented year as the world came to a standstill following the outbreak of the Covid19. We are very grateful for the understanding and willingness to adapt that we experienced from our partners. In a bid to meet our contractual deliverables, we had to re-design our capacity building model from an onsite based methodology to remote/ virtual methodology. Our deepest gratitude goes to our partners particularly in Pact Zambia, Stepping Stones International Botswana, Lilongwe Catholic Health Commission Malawi and Pact Achieve South Sudan for trusting us to embark on this new methodology during a crisis period. We are proud to say that this has been a very successful intervention, in total we have trained a total of 284 people internationally.
Probably, our biggest learning has been that in the face of adversity, the ability to regenerate and re-strategize is critical in staying afloat and that is what we have tried to do in our engagement with partners and they in turn, with their beneficiaries. We are grateful to all partners that have allowed us to continue impacting the lives of children and their caregivers at this very crucial time where everyone has had to lean back into family as the world and its services were closed.
Nyasha Manjengenja – Technical Programme Specialist (International)
“It’s difficult to find the correct words to describe the flow of the training. But I would like to go back to the first day, I remember the words that you said to this group. You said, ‘I know you have had other trainings where you are coming from but this one is different.’ I sit here to testify the truth of those words. I have attended different trainings but the methodology of this programme, how you brought the programme back to reality was great.” (Jeremiah)
Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH): South Africa Projects
Mpume Danisa, Technical Programme Specialist (South Africa)
“2020- What a year!”
SA projects started with a bang, as we began with project preparations and training for the Department of Social Development… then Covid-19 happened! In response to the restrictions imposed, we moved to remote training and have managed to train over 200 new facilitators in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. Communication and flexibility were vital elements as there was a lot of uncertainty around the country. We are grateful to our partners who have worked tirelessly to provide support services to families during this crisis. Big thanks also goes to our main funders: UNICEF and World Childhood Foundation for their support and willingness to amend our agreements in response to the crisis at hand.
COVID19 Programming
In an effort to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, CWBSA partnered with various stakeholders including, University of Oxford and Cape Town, UNICEF, the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, CWB Brazil and UK, and the LEGO Foundation for the COVID19 Playful Parenting Emergency Response (COPPER) project creating a diversity of tips and resources to assist parents during this time. Our creative team hasn’t been able to tour this year due to restrictions on gatherings and travel. Regardless- their impact has still been felt, they have played a major role in creation of the various parenting resources which have reached many families.
They have created several video and audio clips, some which can be found on https://www.facebook.com/ClownsWithoutBordersSouthAfrica They continue to hangout and have “playdates” continuing in the spirit of laughter, play and fun. Some of these resources were circulated through our local partners, social media and radio stations. We were able to share these resources through the Sikhaba iCovid-19 radio program which aired on 15 national radio stations through SABC, as well as 40 community radio stations helping us to reach at least 6.8 million South Africans.
Artistic Programme
As organization that strives to work beyond ‘borders’ such as language, race and religion, 2020 has challenged us to go one step further. With physical borders around the world being closed, no safe way to do our work in person and yet the need for our work greater than ever, we’ve had to go beyond the borders of the computer screen and explore how to connect, play and create through digital platforms such as Zoom and Whatsapp.
In the spirit of the clown who celebrates their failures as opportunities for laughter and learning, we adapted quickly and dived into remote workshops and trainings. In the beginning it felt a bit like growing a new limb; painful and awkward. But after a while it becomes clear that a new limb is actually super useful and allows you to do things you never thought possible before! Furthermore it turns out that humanitarian clowning provides excellent training in being flexible and adaptable. In pre-Covid times it was a CWB mantra to be prepared for anything, as anything could change at any time! So working remotely just became the latest change to adapt to.
When the COPPER project asked us to help them make their parenting tips “more playful, more engaging and more accessible”, it felt like the perfect task for the clowns! Together with a team of artists from CWBSA, CWB Brasil and CWB India, we took the evidence based parenting tips and created a “Zambuk pocket-size” version of them. The audios and videos created included practical, simple and fun activities to inspire parents to play, not only to release their stress but also to bond with their children. The making of videos developed new skills in the artistic team and also inspired the concept of the Playdates.
With all our usual travelling and budget limitations, CWB artists hardly ever get to just meet, play and share artistic practice, unless on tour. With our new online skills, CWBSA artists were able to come together and connect on a personal and professional level during a very challenging year. In other words, have a playdate! We shared, played fun and funny Zoom games and created short videos of some of our favourite songs, games and stories from around the world that will eventually be put on a YouTube playlist for artists, parents and facilitators around the world to access.
Although nothing can replace the sound of the children’s laughter and the shining eyes of the parents and caregivers we work with, I feel honoured and grateful to work with an organisation and artists who are dedicated to finding ways to bring emotional relief and connection to families during a year of “distancing” and “isolation”. – Annabel Morgan, Creative Lead.
There is a special sense of pride I feel whenever I reflect on the results and achievements of Clowns Without Border. Upon reading the annual report, I am always in awe of the towering giants who drive change, with the organization and whose work reverberates across the world. Despite global geopolitical and harsh socio-economic conditions in the most vulnerable and marginalized societies, Clowns Without Borders always ends up chasing rainbows. To say that we have weathered the COVID-19 storm is an understatement, Clowns Without Borders have braved it and have come up smelling of roses. In 2020, the organization cultivated new and stronger partnerships, with research projects supported by Oxford through the Parenting for Lifelong Health programme and catapulted to new frontiers with projects supported by UNICEF and DSD. With the onset of the emotional temperature with lockdowns and quarantines, Clowns without Borders continues to bring laughter and joy to the many children and families we reach. My hope is for the organization to continue to soar to new heights in its ever profound mandate.
From The Board Chair: Neesha Fakir
As Charles Dickens, wrote in The Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom and the age of foolishness…” Many of us will recognize something familiar in these words when thinking back on 2020. At CWBSA, we recognize that the limitations on our work have been frustrating, as well as many of us having experienced personal loss or challenges. We have however also learnt to work in a different way, and been able to address organizational and programmatic needs in a more reflective manner, as there has been time to work together thoughtfully. And as we speak and meet our partners around the world and follow the global dialogue, we hope lessons have been learnt on what our society sees as important and we hope that we can be part of this paradigm shift. From all of us at CWBSA, we wish you a peaceful and enjoyable holiday and we hope 2021 will bring with it a time of positive change and belief in a more equitable future!
Please keep in mind the COVID19 guidelines and keep yourself, families and communities safe! https://youtu.be/fPb-RuMCftU
Suzan Eriksson Co- Director CWBSA
To donate to Clowns Without Borders, please follow this link: https://www.givengain.com/c/cwb/
CWBSA Contacts:
Partnerships and Press enquiries: Suzan Eriksson suzan@cwbsa.org
General enquiries: Gillian Mupotsa gillian@cwbsa.org
Telephone: +27217883202
Mpume Danisa: “2020- What a year!”
SA projects started with a bang, as we began with project preparations and training for the Department of Social Development… then Covid-19 happened! In response to the restrictions imposed, we moved to remote training and have managed to train over 200 new facilitators in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. Communication and flexibility were vital elements as there was a lot of uncertainty around the country. We are grateful to our partners who have worked tirelessly to provide support services to families during this crisis. Big thanks also goes to our main funders: UNICEF and World Childhood Foundation for their support and willingness to amend our agreements in response to the crisis at hand.
In an effort to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, CWBSA partnered with various stakeholders including, University of Oxford and Cape Town, UNICEF, the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, CWB Brazil and UK, and the LEGO Foundation for the COVID19 Playful Parenting Emergency Response (COPPER) project creating a diversity of tips and resources to assist parents during this time. Our creative team hasn’t been able to tour this year due to restrictions on gatherings and travel. Regardless- their impact has still been felt, they have played a major role in creation of the various parenting resources which have reached many families.
They have created several video and audio clips, some which can be found on https://www.facebook.com/ClownsWithoutBordersSouthAfrica They continue to hangout and have “playdates” continuing in the spirit of laughter, play and fun. Some of these resources were circulated through our local partners, social media and radio stations. We were able to share these resources through the Sikhaba iCovid-19 radio program which aired on 15 national radio stations through SABC, as well as 40 community radio stations helping us to reach at least 6.8 million South Africans.
As organization that strives to work beyond ‘borders’ such as language, race and religion, 2020 has challenged us to go one step further. With physical borders around the world being closed, no safe way to do our work in person and yet the need for our work greater than ever, we’ve had to go beyond the borders of the computer screen and explore how to connect, play and create through digital platforms such as Zoom and Whatsapp.
In the spirit of the clown who celebrates their failures as opportunities for laughter and learning, we adapted quickly and dived into remote workshops and trainings. In the beginning it felt a bit like growing a new limb; painful and awkward. But after a while it becomes clear that a new limb is actually super useful and allows you to do things you never thought possible before! Furthermore it turns out that humanitarian clowning provides excellent training in being flexible and adaptable. In pre-Covid times it was a CWB mantra to be prepared for anything, as anything could change at any time! So working remotely just became the latest change to adapt to.
When the COPPER project asked us to help them make their parenting tips “more playful, more engaging and more accessible”, it felt like the perfect task for the clowns! Together with a team of artists from CWBSA, CWB Brasil and CWB India, we took the evidence based parenting tips and created a “Zambuk pocket-size” version of them. The audios and videos created included practical, simple and fun activities to inspire parents to play, not only to release their stress but also to bond with their children. The making of videos developed new skills in the artistic team and also inspired the concept of the Playdates.
With all our usual travelling and budget limitations, CWB artists hardly ever get to just meet, play and share artistic practice, unless on tour. With our new online skills, CWBSA artists were able to come together and connect on a personal and professional level during a very challenging year. In other words, have a playdate! We shared, played fun and funny Zoom games and created short videos of some of our favourite songs, games and stories from around the world that will eventually be put on a YouTube playlist for artists, parents and facilitators around the world to access.
Although nothing can replace the sound of the children’s laughter and the shining eyes of the parents and caregivers we work with, I feel honoured and grateful to work with an organisation and artists who are dedicated to finding ways to bring emotional relief and connection to families during a year of “distancing” and “isolation”. – Annabel Morgan