CLOWNS may be known for their red noses and silly jokes, but Cristina Julia and Jordi Saban have turned their gift of bringing laughter into something more meaningful for children.

As volunteers of the Clowns Without Borders movement, the Spanish nationals are among many who travel around the world performing for children who have experienced trauma. Through a collaboration with the Embassy of Spain and the Spanish-Jamaican Foundation, the clowns’ journey to improve the emotional well-being of children through play and drama therapy has led them to Jamaica.

More than 300 students, aged four to 12 years, laughed, cheered and sang along to the whimsical theatrics of Julia and Saban on Tuesday, September 9, at the Dennis Scott Studio Theatre of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston. Specially selected by the Ministry of Education, the boys and girls came from schools in troubled communities as well as children’s homes in the Corporate Area. The artistes intertwine their training in circus circuits, theatre and puppetry into their drama therapy techniques, and always ensure that humour is at the centre of their performance.

“Laughter is a natural painkiller,” said Julia, who has worked with children in Gaza, Colombia, Congo, and Lebanon. “It’s been proven that when you laugh, you produce endorphins and your immune system improves. So for children who are in bed suffering, to bring them laughter is to bring them medicine.”

Clowns Without Borders (Payasos sin Fronteras) was started in 1993 by Tortell Poltrona after he performed at a refugee camp in Croatia for over 700 children. More than two decades later, the NGO has expanded significantly as these clowns give freely of their services, putting on hundreds of plays and projects each year for children in oppressed situations.

But the Spanish humanitarian organisation understands that reaching the children starts with educating those who care for them. As such, the clowns’ visit also featured workshops with psychologists and social workers from the Child Development Agency and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as well as guidance counsellors from teachers’ colleges.

Julia told the Jamaica Observer that it is important for these professionals to be equipped with the tools to help them relate to emotionally distressed children. These useful exercises serve as icebreakers that help children to open up, and through the use of puppets, they are able to present scenarios that allow them to express their emotions freely.

“It was really moving to see how happy they were,” Julia said of her experience performing for children in the Gaza, Palestine.

The hands-on experience makes a significant difference not only to the clowns but, more importantly, to the children.

“Kids are kids,” Julia added. “They need to laugh; they need to play. They need to forget about their suffering.”