Israel's medical clowns are on a mission to heal the world, whether in disaster zones, the pediatrics ward, or with soldiers
Israel's medical clowns are on a mission to heal the world, as part of the Dream Doctors project. The not-for-profit paramedical professionals are applying their skills in disaster zones, the pediatrics ward, or with soldiers.
"Dream Doctors is the Israeli organization that handles medical clowning on a serious level,” Nimrod Eisenberg told i24NEWS. It “has been running since 2003, and actually Shaare Tzedek was one of the first hospitals where Dream Doctors were involved.”
Eisenberg and his partner Professor Ofer Marin work together in “serious business” at Shaare Tzedek hospital in Israel. The two spoke about their experience providing medical care coupled with professional clowns, who become full members of care teams. They create an island of resilience around them, along with a sense of community.
“Medical clowning is a new, developing field with very ancient roots. What we want to do is to be able to affect the wellbeing, the emotions and the feelings of patients and doctors and nurses and in that way, make the therapy more efficient and more fun,” Eisenberg stated.
"Starting with the thought that this is good for children,” Professor Marin told i24NEWS. “We expanded this from children to adults, to everyone in need, to the staff members as well.”
"In Nepal eight years ago, that was the first time I understood the importance of medical clowns to us, as staff members, because yeah, for us, this is a mental burden to work in a disaster zone” shared Marin, who is also an IDF commander for field hospitals.
“At the beginning, I was embarrassed, I didn't want anyone to see me, to say, oh, the Commander is looking at the clowns and gradually, I became closer and closer,” the professor said.
“I said, well yes, I need it. I need, within this devastated, difficult situation, to remember that there is life outside of the situation that we are now,” he added.
Professor Marin and the Dream Doctors clown team have been deployed in six different disaster zones in the last decade, from Nepal after the earthquake, Thailand after the tsunami, Greece and Germany. The field hospital was also deployed in Turkey after the earthquake earlier this year.