Palestinian Circus School

“Chairs for a circus-school in Palestine” is another one of Anita’s projects geared towards peace. After her visit to Palestine, it was her dream to enable children to be like a child again. That was her goal and she didn’t stop after the chair project. Anita’s spirit and drive, her amazing efforts and those of her large and close circle of friends, her belief in peace and her will for peace have already inspired millions of people and they are the foundation of the set-up and the livability of the Palestinian Circus-school. In order to give this beautiful project of Anita more carrying capacity, ‘Poppies for Peace non profit’ decided to make and sell small poppies to benefit the Palestinian Circus-school as an addition to the large poppies for Apopo. Ceramic artist Diana Wynants designed the first small poppies.

Children in Palestine had never seen a circus before, except on TV. Every child has to get the chance to play and to experiment in a safe environment. Balancing on a unicycle or a rolabola, crawling up a rope high into the air, making acrobatic jumps … these are positive challenges which strengthen your concentration and stimulate self-confidence.

 
Palestinian children and youngsters daily face the harmful consequences of the occupation: violence, intimidation, arrests and poverty. That’s why a circus can play such an important role. In the circus-school, your frustrations, aggression and hopelessness are channeled and kids are taught how to process emotions in a constructive way. The values which are the core of the circuslessons are teamwork, trust and dignity. The circus lifts the kids out of their despair and a whole new world opens up
to them. Shadi and Jessica, Anita’s godchild, want to let children and youngsters dream in their “Circus behind the wall” and to build a positive future. At present, they’re working in Ramallah, Jenin, Hebron and in several refugee camps. They are dreaming of also helping the Gaza youngsters process their traumatic experiences in their circus-school.

Spending the funds : purchasing circus equipment, transportation costs for the children, transporting the equipment and installations, the expenses involved in organizing the annual summerfestival and a tour on the westbank.