Temporary Reception Centre of Borici
When our team arrived in the Temporary Reception Centre of Borici they could see that the kids were excited but at the same time kind of holding back and observing. This did not last long though, and very soon they jumped into the games of the clowns. Everybody was trying different props: juggling with scarves, spinning plates on sticks, moving and dancing with ribbons, playing with the parachute and passing the swinging rope.
Sometimes it was hard for them to keep their focus on one activity but it was so touching to see the joy in their eyes when they finally succeeded.
Our Circus Smile format might be targeted for children but its impact goes beyond them. The team noticed how parents and other adults living in the camp were watching the children’s play from the windows, a bit suspicious on how to react on this. But day by day they started to come down to the yard and then joining and trying themselves all the props. It was like a small community experiencing joyful moments together.
The day of the final show, the children, who had been training hard during the last days, were really excited to show all they had learnt. But, they had to wait for one boy who was attending regular school to finish his classes and be back in the camp. It was his explicit desire to be part of the show and of course the team respected it!
This gave them time to warm up, to prepare the stage and to focus on the different acts. Everyone stayed highly focused and additional features and new gimmicks were implemented to surprise the audience.
Finally, everything was prepared, everybody was ready, and so the show could begin: not only the kids, but also some of their parents, aid workers and other staff attended the show final performance which lasted for about 50 minutes. Every child who performed on the stage, was warmly welcomed and cheered by the audience and supported by the clowns.
They all showed so much courage and it was overwhelming to watch how proud everyone was.
It became a space of confidence, safety and joy where kids could be kids again and the parents could forget for a moment the worries for the future.