Paul Calvert spoke with Yazan Adnan Al-Zubaidy, the Programme Director of Red Noses Palestine.

Yazan Adnan Al-Zubaidy

Red Noses is an international NGO working with sick children in four hospitals in the Palestinian Territories. Bringing joy and laughter through their Clown Doctors they currently work with around 100 children. Paul Calvert spoke with Yazan Adnan Al-Zubaidy, the Programme Director of Red Noses Palestine.

Paul: When were you founded in the Palestinian Authority?

Yazan: Officially we were founded as a branch in 2012. This was the official registration of the organisation, as a branch of Red Noses International.

Paul: What sort of projects do you run?

Yazan: Mainly we are concerned about the Clown Doctor Project. We also have a project called Emergency Smile. This is where we go to affected areas, by floods, war, or whatever. We go and do some activities for the children, to at least relieve them from the stress that they are having and the trauma. For example our artistic director went with a team from Red Noses International to Syrian refugee camps in Jordan. We would like to work more with refugees.

Paul: And how many people do you have on the team in Bethlehem?

Yazan: First of all the team is not only here in Bethlehem; it is spread in the West Bank and we have clowns form Jerusalem, Ramallah and Jenin even. We have 12 clowns, an artistic director and we have a Programme Director, which is me. The most important thing is that all of the staff are youth. So we are working to empower them; we try to give them a way to provide for themselves and have some money. It's important that they can work, because we have a very high rate of unemployment.

Paul: So this isn't volunteer work, this is paid work?

Yazan: Yes, we pay the clowns. It depends on the years that they have spent in the organisation. The old clowns get a little bit more than the new clowns. Palestinian youth need an opportunity to work as freelance because they are not full timers. Also because we need to sustain the very high quality we provide, because we are working mainly in hospitals. In hospitals it is a very critical situation, because the kids have diseases like cancer, so there is a special way to work with them.

Paul: How welcomed are you in the hospitals?

Yazan: We are very welcomed in the hospitals, they love our work. The parents of the kids are always laughing when our clown doctor team is there. The kids wait for us from week to week and sometimes they would like to have their chemotherapy on the days that we are in the hospital.

Paul: Are the clowns well trained before they go into a hospital?

Yazan: Yes they are well trained. We give them workshops continuously. The professional clowns and trainers from Vienna, Austria where our headquarters are, come to Palestine. They give our clowns workshops to deal with sick people and also to artistically be more creative. Also in choosing clowns we are very picky. We have auditions, so it's not an easy process.

Paul: Are there any health benefits to the humour that you provide for the kids?