April 23, 2004
By Lucille Davie
CLOWNS and hospitals don't normally go together but there's a bunch of clowns in town who visit two Johannesburg hospitals each week to "help the medicine go down".
"The children love it, it just lifts them, the clowns are the life and soul of the ward on Wednesdays," says Sister Sadie Cutland of Ward 294 at the Johannesburg General Hospital in Parktown.
Bringing smiles to a little girl, who has had a brain tumour removed
The clowns are members of a worldwide organisation called The Theodora Children's Trust, which has the noble aim of "easing the suffering of hospitalised children through laughter". Every week three or four clowns, dressed in white doctors' coats appliquéd with balloons and their names on the back, visit the Joburg General Hospital and Baragwanath Chris Hani Hospital in Soweto where they spend three hours bringing smiles to the faces of very sick children.
Ward 294 houses children and babies recovering from the removal of brain tumours, and those with leukaemia and bone cancer and undergoing chemotherapy and radiography.
The Foundation is based in Switzerland where it was founded 10 years ago by the two sons of Theodora Poulie, a fun-loving person who died of cancer. Since their initial idea of sending in one clown, 39 Swiss hospitals have the clown-doctor programme in place and it also operates in China, Belarus, Italy, Spain and Turkey. Eight years ago, the two Johannesburg hospitals also jumped into the ring.
The person behind the Foundation in South Africa is Garth van Vliet, or Dr Jay Jay, who was approached by the two brothers while performing at a shopping mall. Though he's been juggling for 10 years, as the Jolly Juggler, he says his work at the hospitals is "what makes me happiest".
"We work with kids facing terrifying times; in some cases the end of their lives. Our time with them gives them the true children's experience - they can escape for that time," he says.
He also trains future clown doctors, a skill that is more sensitive than one would imagine. The course lasts six months, and prospective clowns have to wade through an 85-page manual to qualify. He only enlists people who are already entertainers, and out of 100 replies he got to a recent ad in a daily newspaper, only three finally finished the course. Clown doctors do get a small salary from the Foundation, but not enough to make it a full-time occupation. Van Vliet is pursuing sponsors in Johannesburg, so that the programme can be extended to more hospitals in the city.
"Clowns normally break all the rules but in a hospital you have to be more careful about rules than anywhere else," he explains. Clowns have to be concerned about the hygienic conditions, and be aware of drips and tubes protruding from children's bodies; they also have to avoid doing what many clowns impulsively do - get close to children.
When Van Vliet walks into a ward with his white coat emblazoned with Dr Jay Jay, a red dot on his nose and white shapes on his cheeks and eyebrows, his appliquéd pockets bulge with magic paraphernalia which he empties to make balloon animals or do tricks which make balls or handkerchiefs appear out of blankets and children's ears. He jokes all the time, and occasionally breaks into Zulu. Though he brings plenty of happy smiles to their sick faces, the only physical contact he has is when it's time to leave: he offers a thumb to a child, the child does the same, and they touch thumbs in parting, their only physical contact.
He says he travels a lot, and although he misses his four children, they almost take second place to the hospital children.
"When I travel I really miss the hospital. This is an incredibly rewarding thing to do," he beams.
He runs the only juggling supply shop in the country, and has just come back from the annual juggling convention in Hibberdene on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast.
When not visiting hospitals, he is a juggler at birthday parties, shopping centres and corporates, where he does life skills training by teaching businesspeople how to juggle in 45 minutes, often re-igniting their interest in learning. His experience with them, some at the top of their field, is just as rewarding.
"One guy came to me afterwards and said: 'I wish I had your job, you've given me wonderful insights'."
He leaves each person with a bag containing three juggling balls, and although most don't put in the time needed to master the art, some do learn to juggle.
He says he was taught the basics of juggling by a friend in England 10 years ago. When he saw him several years later his friend was impressed with his proficiency, and was surprised to hear he was Van Vliet's original instructor. And, yes, he can juggle five balls, a feat achieved only after many years of practice. He also does unicycling and stilt walking.
When asked what he wants to be doing at 60, he smiles. "I'd would like to be selective about what work I do, but I'll be working in the hospitals forever."
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