Laugh is the best medicine

Volunteers of the organization "Hospital Clowns" are actively working with kids with cancer in hospitals of Kyiv. We help kids suffering from severe and prolonged illnessesto overcome the negative effects of the disease – pain, fear, aggression and other negative emotions. Games, creative work or simple talk with cheerful clown can distract young patients and bring a smile and joy to them, help them not to be afraid of doctors in doctor's smocks. Let’s help kids to be cured with the best medicine – laughing!

Children who undergo prolonged and aggressive medical treatment (oncology) have serious difficultieswith adaptation. As they have to leave their usual rhythm of life replacing it with hospitals, and medical intervention.So for young patients it is very important to be distracted from their illness, to have psychological discharge, to smile. More than a year hospital clowns work in Kyiv hospitals "National Cancer Institute", Institute of Neurosurgery, Kiev Oblast Clinical Hospital №1, City Oncology Hospital. The main purpose of our work is to improve the emotional state of sick children, to facilitate their quicker recovery, return to young patients the feeling of normal childhood.

One of our goals is to help a child to perceive a doctoras a friend, not as an enemy. Therefore clownswear painted doctor's smocksso that children can see that the doctors can also be fun and kind. This image of funny doctor helps children to escape the fear of all doctors who usually make them painful procedures or injections. Currently, volunteers are buying their own doctor's smocks, they are all different and painted by activists themselves. Because of the need for frequent washing, colors of thesedressings become dim, and generally lose their cheerful look. We want to buy 12 doctor's smocksand paints and to paint them in a fun and enjoyable for children colors; make each clowns’ dressing unique and interesting for a child. Therefore, the total amount is 4 910 UAH: 12 doctor's smocksand, 60 jars of paint (12 sets of 5 jars of each color) to draw on light fabrics.

"Treatment is the doctors’ responsibility, volunteers only facilitate. We help with our attention "- says organizer of hospital clowning – Maria Gavrylovska.