On Saturday, October 3, 2020, another meeting of our team of teachers, clowns and mentors took place in the wonderfully welcoming and kind environment of the Clarion Hotel in Prague. This time, due to the ever-changing situation, we met in a more intimate group, especially in the case of teachers and mentors. Thanks to that we had much more time for ourselves and could really talk about everything that was close to our hearts.
Due to the fact that, since spring, we have been struggling with the closure of the institutions in which we operate, online meetings with our children, seniors and mentees have become an absolute necessity. Therefore, during those few hours spent together in the afternoon, our team psychologist Pavel Wieser gave us practical advice on how to use online technology, how to set up the camera, sound and image so that our broadcasts are as efficient and meaningful as possible, so that children are interested and we can get and keep their attention.
The next block we devoted exclusively to sharing of all kinds – worries, joys, obstacles and small or bigger victories, which we managed to achieve with children or seniors. Years of experience shared by our mentors Monika Kavanová and Markéta Franke were absolutely invaluable. Thanks to the fact that they have been working with “their” children from the children’s home in Žatec and seniors from the neighboring home for several years and have various experiences with them, they were able to share them and in many cases reassure and encourage others.
“I’ve already started to burn out, but this meeting gave me the kick I needed and I want to throw myself into the battle again,” smiled our long-time mentor Eva Lövenhöferová as we said goodbye.
Inputs of university student David, who lives in the children’s home Klánovice and was able to share with us his view from the other side of the barricade on things that we dealt with as teachers or mentors in contacts with homes and their aunts and uncles, was also a great contribution to our discussion.
The clowns weren’t bored either. Almost every one of them arrived, full of smiles, joy of life, and open to learning new pieces of clown craft. The amazing clown and yoga instructor Vendy Tichotová took care of the tone that tuned everyone to the right waves. In her performance, yoga beautifully purified everyone’s mind and soul, so they were ready for Helena Bartošová’s improvisation workshop, who has been dedicated to improvisation and impro theater for almost 20 years. This inspired other ideas on how to conjure a smile on the faces of children in hospitals and make , bed-ridden moments more pleasant for them. We would like to thank Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech s.r.o. for their help and support, thanks to which this training was possible.
In the last block, we met our fundraisers, who do irreplaceable work for C4C. We shared with them moving stories that we experience with children and adults wherever we go as clowns, teachers or mentors. In these specific stories with photographs of concrete children and adults, we have shown them that their efforts really make sense and that they help us immensely to change the world for the better. Without them, our work would not be possible. Thank you. We are very happy to have you.
Many thanks also go to the CPI Hotels for allowing us to meet again even in uncertain and suddenly changing conditions. We always meet very nice and helpful staff in the Clarion Hotel, who takes care of us royally. It is a real honor for us and thank you very much for being with us! It means a lot.
Author: Zuzana Šrámková
