For Ilse Beckers, director of CliniClowns, these are exactly the moments that matter. “We can't make someone better,” she says. “But we can improve the experience of care with the lightness our clowns bring.”
Contact through play
“CliniClowns is a wonderful charity,” says Ilse. “We work with 103 professionally-trained actors who have fully mastered the clown profession. The clown is a very old archetype. We have translated that to the care environment, where tension, anxiety and stress are often high. With humour, play and contact, we try to counter that.”
According to Ilse, it is not about entertainment, but something deeper. “We call it the power of laughter. If you are a child in hospital, it can be very exciting. We can help make that hospital experience more bearable. Through play and contact, we let children be children again for a while.”
Where the game begins
CliniClowns usually work in pairs. This is deliberately set up that way. “A child in a hospital bed doesn't always feel like a clown right away,” Ilse explains. “That's why our clowns first create play with each other. That feels safe. Meanwhile, they see what the child wants and where there is room for contact.”
Beforehand, the clowns coordinate with healthcare professionals on what they need to know. “If a child is nauseous, just coming out of an operation or has to undergo one, they know that. With that information, they go into the ward and see room by room what is possible.”
Sometimes play arises from something very small. “A small movement, a look or a gesture from a child can be all the beginning. The clowns build on that. Then sometimes you really see a transformation in the room. A child who was anxious at first suddenly dares to join in. It can be as simple as blowing bubbles and popping them together. But it can also grow into a whole musical chaos in a room where it was quiet and tense before.”
When eyes light up again
Not only children are visited. CliniClowns also visit people with dementia. “That requires a different way of playing,” says Ilse. “Our clowns learn a lot about the target group before they work there.”
She recalls a moment that particularly touched her. “Elderly people were sitting in a living room and these residents were mostly introverted. A clown sat down next to an elderly lady. She lifted her hand, and the clown imitated that. This created a game with their hands. It was very small, but you could see her eyes light up again. There was a connection and that moved me immensely.”
Support from partners
CliniClowns receives no subsidy and relies entirely on donations. “We have a lot of people who support our organisation very faithfully. They are the foundation under our organisation,” Ilse explains. “But business partners are also hugely important. Donations like Xolv's are substantial and make it possible to develop new projects and continue our work.”