Clowns Without Borders Makes "WASH" Fun in Gqeberha !

Author: Clowns Without Borders SA (CWBSA)

More than 2 million households in South Africa are without proper sanitation facilities leading to exposure to unhygienic and unhealthy environments for families.

Schools are also struggling, despite President Cyril Ramaphosa announcing the Sanitation Appropriate for Education initiative in 2018, there has been slow improvement.

According to the 2021 National Education Infrastructure Management System report there are still 1,473 schools in the Eastern Cape that have plain pit latrines that need to be replaced, with 944 of those schools having no sanitation facilities besides illegal plain pit latrines. Clean water and proper sanitation are a UN Sustainable Development Goal, promoting dignified sanitation for all. If progress is slow, it is a priority to ensure that communities are responsible for leading the way through good hygienic practices and behaviour change in particular children and adolescents are powerful agents of change.

This will be the aim of the Clowns Without Borders South Africa (CWBSA) WASH capacity building workshop in Gqeberha from the 9th – 13th of April 2022 at the Walmer Centre, partnering with World Vision South Africa and 3 community-based organisations, Masibambisane, Monique Haven, and Sihlambesinye Community Services. The workshop is supported by UNICEF South Africa.

CWBSA will promote playful facilitation methodologies to support practitioners on the ground to test and use innovative approaches when they work with children, teens, and adults. The week will be spent at the Walmer Centre learning and practically testing with communities. Implementation will continue over 2022 in close collaboration with CWBSA.

CWBSA’s mission is development of creative and facilitation interventions in South Africa and the continent. The organisation has reached 500 000 children and caregivers since 2007, providing psychosocial support and violence prevention tools through theatre, play, capacity building and laughter. CWBSA is the main capacity builder of the evidence-based family strengthening programme, Parenting for Lifelong Health that works towards creating emotionally healthy relationships between parents, caregivers, children, and youth through a collaborative approach where all voices are heard in the family.  

WVSA is child-focused, Christian non-governmental organization currently operating in four provinces of South Africa: Limpopo, KZN, Free State and the E. Cape under three pillars namely: Advocacy, Humanitarian Affairs/Relief and Community Development (Education, WASH, Health, and Livelihoods). WVSA was founded in 1967 and is a member of the World Vision Global Partnership founded in the 1950s which currently operates in 100 countries. The programmes impact the most vulnerable children by identifying fragile and poverty-stricken areas.

“This will be our first face to face capacity building since 2020, so the team is excited,” mentions Suzan Eriksson, Co- Director. “We hope to bring fun and laughter to the everyday lives of the champions who work on the ground. They can be forgotten, as they often tirelessly work in difficult environments. We hope our methodology can bring a playfulness and emotional support into their lives with communities, and on a personal level.”

For more information about Clowns Without Borders South Africa http://cwbsa.org/, please contact Suzan on 0820403797 or Julia 0839816400 or Sussie 0798548734 who will be at the Walmer Centre or find our stories on Facebook and Twitter: ClownsWithoutBordersSA.

World Vision South Africa: https://www.worldvision.co.za/about-us/    

UNICEF South Africa: https://www.unicef.org/southafrica/

Issued by:           Suzan Eriksson Co Director  suzan@cwbsa.org Tel: 082 0403797  On behalf of:  CWBSA