Society

China tries using clowns in hospitals

(AP)
Updated: 2006-04-23 14:57

It was the lack of support or activities for hospitalized children that inspired Claudia Vogg, a German woman who was working in China, to set up Magic Hospital.

"All I could see was adults providing for them what adults think they need food, clothes, medicine and school work. But I thought, 'They're children, so why not try and bring in a bit of fun?'" she said by phone from her home in Paris, where she is setting up a similar charity.

The doctors and nurses at the 750-bed Women and Children's Hospital, one of the world's biggest hospitals for youngsters, agreed to the program in 2003 after just two meetings, Vogg said.

"I was so surprised, but the doctors all sat there nodding their heads when I explained the concept of 'xiao ye shi yao' or 'laughter is also medicine,'" she said. "I was also surprised because it was a 'laowai' (foreigner) proposing it."

Besides the Liu brothers, the Magic Hospital team includes teachers of art and English. Except for the clowns, who earn $30 each for making two-hour performances twice a week at the hospital, everyone else is a volunteer.

The money comes from private donations and fundraising events, though a few corporations have donated. In the early days, Vogg paid the clowns out of her own pocket.

Magic Hospital also takes clowns to orphanages, schools for the children of migrant workers and homes for street children.

"It's about ensuring that children enjoy their right to be a child to have fun and play," said Magda The, a Dutch woman who is one of the group's 13 volunteer workers.

In China, "doctors and nurses know how to administer medicine and treat a patient on medical terms. But a bedside manner has never been a part of the curriculum for medical training," said The, a former liaison officer for the medical charity Doctors Without Borders and a mother of two.

"For the kids, just seeing these guys in costumes and with their painted faces, it's different from the endless parade of white coats. They know they are going to have some fun," said The. "It's also a bit of a respite for parents and the nursing staff."