Dear Friends and Family,
Hopefully this email finds you well and happy. Gwen and I have been thriving beyond belief in Cairo. The past week marked the end of this tour of Project Egypt, but I can honestly say we went out with a bang. Over the coarse of the first two weeks, word spread that the clowns were in town for a limited time, causing a flood of requests for shows and workshops from all corners of Cairo. We worked ourselves silly trying to accommodate for everyone, but sadly we had to turn some schools down and even missed a workshop because we spread ourselves so thin. All said and done, we performed for over 1,660 children and adults, and provided workshops to 880 students!
We returned to the Sudanese Community Development Program Education Center to perform two shows. The week prior our shows were canceled due to a flood in the courtyard. The first show we had to shorten on the spot because the little kids got so excited that they mobbed us. They wouldn’t give us space, and order could not be restored! The teachers tried everything to keep them back but with no success. They would not be satisfied until they were practically on top of us and all our equipment. Now we know the dangers rock stars face with their crazed fans. The older group, however, was calm, collected, and enjoyed our performance thoroughly.
A few of the other refugee schools we visited were Central School, Cannossian School and St. Joseph’s school. We were also able to return to two places we visited on our last trip here in February. One is an all girls orphanage and the other is a school for disabled students located in a poorer part of Cairo called Ezbet El Nakhl. Children at both of these institutions remembered us from last time, letting us know by imitating parts from our last show. Performing for children familiar with us is an extra bonus because they are comfortable with us from the moment we enter the stage. Sometimes, with audiences that don’t know us, it takes the first five minutes of them sizing us up to decide that we are okay. Luckily, so far, we have won the affection of all the children we have come into contact with.
We are sad to leave our new and old friends in Cairo, but we also know that we will return in less than a year to continue and further the progress we’ve made so far. We have also received many invitations to Southern Sudan and hope that some day we will be able to make it there too. We are so grateful to all our friends and family for providing financial and emotional support. We also thank you for not minding our lengthy email updates.
Regards,
Elisa Lane
Project Egypt
www.clownswithoutborders.org
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