Options 1 - Medical Clowning - Halle & Bella
Our first day of Medical Clowning began in the beautiful Bnei Dan hostel, with a traffic jam of 30kg overweight Moriah and Masada suitcases. We were greeted with the interesting hostel brekkie, “delightfully WARM rugelach”. Then we were faced with the challenge of fitting 50 odd Moriah girl’s suitcases on the Masada bus, which clearly didn’t compensate for our excessive level of overpacking. After calling in backup from Jesse, the photographer, we were finally on our way.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by the head clown doctor ‘Dush’, who showed us a short clip and powerpoint on the origins of the Dream Doctors. The 100 dream doctors, or medical clowns, are an integral part of the paediatric healthcare staff in the hospitals of Israel, assisting in 40 various types of medical procedures and treating 200,000 young patients each year. This amazing non-profit organisation began in 2002, at Hadassah hospital with only a few clowns. Now 17 years later, they have been able to reach out to over 29 hospitals with 100 clowns, even managing to offer their services overseas in places damaged through natural disasters, alongside the IDF.
We then began the hands-on workshop where we played fun games which taught us the crucial skills that medical clowns use on a daily basis to interact with the children. We played a memory game which taught us to be very aware, as a patient’s condition or situation is constantly changing and the clown needs to be able to recognise these adjustments. After a quick game of “zip zap”, Dush informed us of the importance of our energy and being able to control it as the level of energy you as the leader brings, determines the environment of the patient’s room. Having high energy is essential for interactions with children, so Dush tried to get us to play the game with the highest energy possible to practice this skill. This came naturally for some but others were forced to step out of their comfort zone. Another important lesson we learnt was that you need to go into a patient’s room with an open mind, because you can never know what to expect. It is vital that you go in with a positive attitude and are prepared to adjust this to the child’s needs. The final exercise we did was the most challenging; we were placed in a conversation or situation where saying ‘no’ would be an easy way out, therefore we were not allowed to say any words similar to “no”, “don’t”, or “can’t”. This aimed to prepare us for potential situations we would be faced with during our Dream Doctors journey.
After a delicious burgers bar adventure for lunch and buying out the stock of pomegranate seeds in the hospital mall, we were able to put into action the skills we learnt in the workshop. We entered the paediatric wards, where we discovered that there were actually very few children there at the moment (BH). This made our experience very personal as we built a connection with one individual child who we spent the majority of the time with.
After a long day we arrived at the Agron Hostel; let us tell you taking those suitcases off the bus in the pouring rain was an ‘experience’. We had a really fun and exciting evening bonding with our group at bowling and learnt that Moriah students NEED bumpers.
Overall, day 1 of Medical Clowning, exceeded our expectations; it was both rewarding and insightful. The day left us feeling so grateful for our health and the opportunity we have received to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.
Riiise and shine ☀. With the ‘sleep in’ until 7:15 (crazy we know!!!) we were energised and ready with our crazy socks, for day 2 of Medical Clowning. We began the day by visiting Shalva, a centre for children aged 0-21, who have mild or severe disabilities and special needs. To begin our day, we toured the incredible facilities, basketball courts, sleepover rooms and swimming pools, and that was only the beginning. Shalva can accomodate around 2000 children a week, who are looked after by the 800 incredible staff and volunteers. Something which resonated with us at Shalva was a butterfly analogy which was used throughout the building. At Shalva, they give the children the resources which they will use throughout their lives, with the hope that one day they will fly like a butterfly. This theme was prevalent throughout the whole experience there.
Next on the agenda was Yad Sarah, where we took part in a virtual tour through the entire premises. Yad Sarah is a volunteer based organisation that provides health care and home services through the 6000 volunteers that lend out 7689 items of medical and rehabilitative equipment, to anyone who needs. This saves the Israeli government $3 billion in hospitalisation costs. We were then fortunate enough to have a fun opportunity to build our own crutches in one of the workshops.
We continued our day by returning to the Hadassah hospital where we reunited with Dush, with gifts and fun activities for the children in our arms. We went back to levels 3 and 4, the paediatric wards, and the kids were so excited to see us and receive our gifts. One story that is really worth sharing is a madrich from the hospital told one of the students, Noa Gold, that “this is the happiest she’s seen some of the kids in a long time”. This really touched us and made us feel pride and accomplishment in what we have been doing the past few days, and we could acknowledge that what we are doing is actually positively impacting a child’s life. Another story is of a nurse that came to complete a checkup on a usually nervous child, but he was not phased as he was busy having fun with us, the students. The mother of the child said that this is the first time he hasn’t cried when the nurse entered in a really long time. After this inspirational day, we headed out for a delicious dinner and dessert at Mamilla Mall.
The delightful 5:30am optional wakeup on day 3 was worth it. Walking/trekking (2.5km with a lot of steps) to the Kotel in pitch black to watch sunrise was a lot of fun. Venturing through the empty Mamilla Mall and Jewish quarter was quite the experience, taking in the silence, calmness and fresh air (unlike Sydney). We had a beautiful morning prayers service at the Kotel and following had some delicious pastries for breakfast. Others wisely chose to sleep in and later engaged in an amazing creative tefilla.
After a meaningful morning we were yet again faced with a challenge. One bus, Netzach, Lehava and did I mention MASADA! Don’t worry though, we sorted it out in the end. We then split into groups, one heading to an old age home and one to a food kitchen. The old age home was a unique experience, with singing, dancing and playing piano as entertainment for the elderly. Although our trip had to get “cut early”, we all had a blast. We then made our way to a food kitchen that aims to feed all the impoverished families in Israel through distributing food baskets. We packed humongous vegetables into bags, ready to be delivered. We all felt very privileged to help and give to others.
After our final lunch adventure for Medical Clowning, we had a short talk about the history of Hadassah hospital and heard from someone who has a personal connection to the hospital after having many life-saving surgeries there. We headed upstairs for our final experience with the children. Many of us took the important opportunity to go up to the 5th floor, the Paediatric Oncology ward, whilst for others it was too difficult. Upon arrival, we each picked a room which we would stay in for the whole time, to minimise the spread of germs. The children seemed visibly drained, however once we began interaction they brightened up and became much more joyful. They were playing, colouring and popping bubbles, seemingly normally. This experience of seeing their moods change so drastically was an extremely rewarding experience. To be able to brighten a child’s day, one who had suffered through so much, even slightly, is an extremely gratifying feeling.
Overall, Medical Clowning was a really rewarding and insightful experience. Seeing a smile on a child’s face and watching them laugh, for some the first in a long time, lit up all of our days. We all walked out of this experience with a greater appreciation of life and awareness to help others. We enjoyed every second and are grateful for the opportunity given. As our Medical Clowning mentor said “In the eyes of the world I am just somebody, but in the eyes of somebody I am the entire world”.
Halle Sher & Bella Schlessinger - 11.12.2019
