Clown Therapy Is Best 'Prescription' for Crisis Zones Bibbi - Clapway
go to original June 22, 2015

Meet Clowns Without Borders! (Clowns Without Borders)

From conflict zones to hospitals, clown therapy is bringing the ‘circus of life’ to areas that need it the most.

When I was 18 years old, my father sent me to clown therapy training in a small village in Italy. In the beginning I had no idea of what I was doing. But after a full-immersion and a visit to a hospital, I saw how clowns could express their creativity in crisis zones with exceptional results.

Unlike other relief workers, Briar Seyb-Hayden prepares herself to step in a refugee camp applying makeup and putting on a red nose. She is part of Clowns Without Borders, a group of artists with a clear mission: bringing psychological relief to communities in crisis zones around the world.

As a professional clown she has spent weeks in disaster zones, bringing ‘comic relief’ – to children in particular. “The stress and trauma children have to overcome is very different from that of adults. Laughter is a contagious emotion and it is an effective method to heal emotional distress,” Briar told me.

It is one thing to be a performer, and another to be right for kids in a crisis setting. CWB has been to refugee camps in Lebanon, parts of the Philippines ravaged by super-typhoon Haiyan, and remote Indigenous communities in Mexico.

Over the last two years, this bunch of enthusiastic clowns has performed 211 shows across the world, reaching over 65,000 children and families.

Participation is on a voluntary basis, but clown therapists need to be professionals, with experience in both the performing arts and social work.

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