Clowns Without Borders SA (CWBSA)

APPROACH

The CWBSA model is defined by 4 key approaches:

CAPACITY BUILDING - CWBSA capacity builds partners from the private, public, and non-governmental sectors in the scale up of the evidence informed Parenting for Lifelong Health and other psycho-social programmes. We manage a capacity building process up to facilitator, coach, and trainer levels. CWBSA supports capacity development of artists, facilitators, trainers, front-line workers, social workers, and other professionals.

CONTENT DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH - CWBSA works towards supporting the development, adaptation, dissemination, and scale up of the Parenting for Lifelong Health Programme and other programmes through content development and research implementation.

QUALITY ASSURANCE - CWBSA develops and reviews qualitative, efficient, and user-friendly systems and processes for management of potential scale up of parenting and other programmes.

ARTISTIC - CWBSA collaborates with humanitarian partners through strengthened positioning and awareness around the use of play and arts to relieve suffering and trauma as well as providing creative tools for professionals, caregivers, and children.

With these core approaches, CWBSA aims to reduce the risk of violence against children and. adolescents within the home, develop healthy family relationships and support child development through play.

A selection of current projects…

1)    CWBSA is implementing a newly developed programme, Sibambisene ‘ We are One” with NACOSA for parents and caregivers with substance use disorders. CWBSA has been working throughout 2024 to develop the programme, and very excited to see it being implemented with parents from Nelson Mandela Metro, e Thekwini and the Western Cape.

2)    CWBSA is working with the Catholic Institute of Education, funding from Porticus to test how the PLH programme is received at primary schools in Gauteng. If successful, we aim to scale up to more schools in the country.

3)    CWBSA is working with the City of Cape Town to reach families in Mitchells Plain and Gugulethu. 8 coaches have been trained to introduce the PLH programme to parents and caregivers.

4)    Fables of the Mind, a performance about mental health will be having its premier at Soweto Theatre on the 6- 9 June. High school students from Soweto will be invited to see the performance in July/August; dates to be confirmed. Q&A sessions will be organised on adolescent mental health, self-care, disrupt taboos and when to seek help.

The map below gives an overview of the countries in which CWBSA and the wider PLH network have supported the development, testing and scale-up of PLH-related interventions:

Since 2007, CWBSA’s arts-based and playful programmes using drama, physical theatre, clowning, and music reached more than 500,000 beneficiaries in over 15 countries throughout Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

In South Africa, CWBSA has supported approximately 100 implementing partners in the non-profit and government sector delivering PLH-related interventions across all provinces. The PLH Young Children and PLH Teens programmes have been recognised for accreditation by both the South African Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP) and the Education and Training and Development Practices Sector Education and Training Authority (ETDP SETA).  

CWBSA is working with the Department of Social Development (DSD) to train and coach facilitators to take PLH Teens to scale in Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Northern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, NorthWest, Free State, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Gauteng (funded by UNICEF South Africa and the Government of South Africa).

To support young parents up to 24-years old, NACOSA has been trained on the PLH Young Children programme for implementation in Western Cape, Gauteng, and Northern Cape. Further formative research is being done in collaboration with the wider network to develop and pilot a parenting programme tailored to support teen parents on the specific needs that they and their children may have.

As part of the development and testing of digital parenting interventions, CWBSA is supporting a Randomised Controlled Trial on the Parent Text Chatbot-based intervention in Mpumalanga in collaboration with non-profit organisation, Mothers2Mothers South Africa. M2m is also supported on the delivery of the hybrid ParentChat intervention that combines in-person and online chat sessions to support parents and their teenagers.

CWBSA is a steering committee member of the South African Parenting Programme Implementers Network (SAPPIN), which aims to strengthen the voice and capacity of civil society working with families and to link South African and international policies for the protection and security of children and the prevention of violence in childhood. Through SAPPIN, which includes members like Save the Children, Sonke Gender Justice, and the Institute for Security Studies, CWBSA can draw on a valuable network of South African partners for its content development and capacity building work.

The pandemic severely impacted on young people’s mental health all over the world due to disruptions in education and limited access to a broader network. South Africa also recorded one of the highest caregiver deaths for young people. This age group has been hit far worse than adults. Many young people are experiencing loneliness, unhappiness, and stress.

 Uncertainties remain for the future, and for example the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development is calling for more responsive, strengthened, and integrated mental health services for young people to support them and allow this generation to bounce back. With this context in mind, the Clowns Without Borders South Africa (CWBSA) project, Creativity Together, was led by Emilie Owen Raposo and facilitators, Abueng Mkhonza, Tallowah, and Thabo Ramaine in Johannesburg aiming to use a variety of arts such as drama, drawing, and dance in combination with play to address stress and anxiety amongst young people. The overall goal was to test the module in collaboration with Lefika La Phodiso, in Johannesburg and then develop a capacity building approach to train community facilitators.

CWBSA aims to provide a resource for facilitators to use in their after-school work with young people throughout lockdowns or in more ‘normal’ times. “We really wanted to create with young people,” mentions Co-Director Suzan Eriksson, “Not to have a top-down approach…. the facilitators have been walking into sessions with no set plan and keeping calm to assess the atmosphere of the day. This can be extremely daunting at the best of times…We thank Lefika La Phodiso https:// lefikalaphodiso.co.za/ for collaborating with us, they have an amazing contact to the young people and a wonderful space.”
 

During the activities, creative engagements and reflections, there was a strong reoccurring theme of bullying and mistrust within the group, which appeared to be connected to the challenging and often violent communities around them. By actively listening to the kids, and engaging in these themes creatively, the facilitators were able to witness (over a fairly short period of time) some of the positive changes they felt have taken place in the sessions and in the kids themselves – this included a steady and progressive growth in trust within the group and in their facilitators, as well as an observed increased ability, or perhaps even willingness, to communicate and play together. “We have had to focus on building trust and safety in an environment where these do not come easily,” mentions Emilie Owen Raposo, “we are meeting a group every week who live in the inner-city of Johannesburg and experience violence and insecurity in their every-day lives, on top of this we have Covid-19.

We want to develop this work with them, and really hear them. What is coming up repeatedly is the high level of violence in their communities and how they are often taught by adults to retaliate with force to any threat or discomfort.”

Telephone      :      +27 33 346 0149
 

 Email        :          info@cwbsa.org

01 Alan Paton Avenue
Scottsville
3209
Pietermaritzburg
KwaZulu-Natal.

https://cwbsa.org/