{"id":2901,"date":"2025-09-09T10:03:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T10:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clowns.org\/our-journey-together-colombia-2025\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T08:31:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T08:31:18","slug":"our-journey-together-colombia-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clowns.org\/en\/our-journey-together-colombia-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Our expedition together (Colombia 2025)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Colombia suffers from an internal conflict that generates violence and forced displacement, especially in regions such as Choc\u00f3. According to UNHCR, the country ranks first in the world for the number of internally displaced persons, with more than 7.8 million people affected. <\/p>\n\n

Txetxe, Rosi, Isa, and Tatiana, dedicated clowns who are part of our organization, traveled to Quibd\u00f3, the capital of Choc\u00f3. There they combined clown and circus performances with Trauma Recovery Techniques (TRTs) to reduce post-traumatic stress and improve the well-being of displaced children and their families, fostering resilience and community cohesion. <\/p>\n\n

They themselves share their experience:<\/p>\n\n

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\u201cFrom the very beginning we knew that the aim of the project entrusted to us was to reduce the symptoms of post-traumatic stress and improve the mood of displaced and refugee children who had suffered the effects of conflict and forced movements in the Choc\u00f3 region.<\/p>\n\n

To achieve this, we combined two approaches from different fields: one from psychology, using the TRTs (Trauma Recovery Techniques) created by the UTCCB (Unit for Trauma, Crisis and Conflicts of Barcelona) and applied by teachers from schools in Quibd\u00f3, and another from the performing arts, through comedy shows performed by Clowns Without Borders.This project was made possible with the support of UNHCR Colombia, the Nous Cims Foundation, and Ibercaja. Without being fully aware of it, this has been the sixth tour of the project. <\/p>\n\n

After this introduction, it is hard to describe the experience, full of inner contradictions that constantly make you question the place of human beings on this planet. A land of immense wealth like Choc\u00f3 (gold, mining, food, ecological beauty…) alongside the violence and exploitation imposed on its people, who live in poverty and under the pressure of decades of armed conflict.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Arrival in Choc\u00f3<\/h5>\n\n

From Bogot\u00e1 we flew in a small plane for an hour and a half over the Choc\u00f3 jungle. We observed the endless green stretching beneath us. We saw the Atrato River winding like a vital artery, full of life and nourishment. <\/p>\n\n

In Quibd\u00f3, Don Luis, our driver, was waiting for us. He soon became an essential part of the team, taking care of us and accompanying us with kindness and safety. From his car we watched in fascination: thousands of motorbikes full of people, furniture, objects, entire families… without helmets, without traffic lights, and yet without accidents. Adding to all this was the music blasting from speakers on every corner: exotic rhythms or voices announcing fresh fruit, tasty, delicious, and sweet as honey.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Our First Steps<\/h5>\n\n

\u201cOur host, Tatiana Torres, the clown Petisa, reassured us from the start: the first days are for introductions, and afterwards, everything will flow. And that\u2019s exactly what happened. <\/p>\n\n

After a few shows, the teamwork was perfect. The team understood each other without words.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Shared Flight<\/h5>\n\n

\u201cWith my beloved companions from Valencia, Rosi C\u00f3zar and Isa Navas, we formed a bond of complicity and trust that gave us absolute freedom on stage. We soared, in every performance, through laughter, mischief, and giant strides. <\/p>\n\n

Each show closed with a farewell song adapted to the audience, accompanied by the banjolele, maracas, and the rhythm of calypso rock.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Overflowing Laughter<\/h5>\n\n

\u201cThe shows at the schools were pure energy: 500 children all at once, hugging us, seeking us with their eyes, wanting to keep playing. A tenderness that left us exhausted and marked by love. <\/p>\n\n

We would love to perform for them every week. And even then, it would still be necessary. Because in an environment shaped by violence, laughter changes gazes and transforms the atmosphere. <\/p>\n\n

Magic tricks, juggling, the surprise of a disappearing handkerchief or a floating rope became a collective breath. Among infinite jungles and noisy routines, we learned that humor is both resistance and tenderness. <\/p>\n\n

Now we need a few days to process our minds, our souls, and our hearts\u2014vibrant, emotional, and transformed.<\/p>\n\n

We can only feel grateful for this land and its generous people, who ask us to come back soon, tomorrow even, and to teach them magic\u2014even though they are already ready and are the ones who truly know how to perform it.<\/p>\n\n

Clowning does not heal the world, but it does make it more livable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Txetxe Folch<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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\u201cTo the 6,738 children of Choc\u00f3: each of your smiles is a river flowing freely between mountains, a spark that lights up the jungle, a ray of light breaking through the rain.<\/p>\n\n

Thank you for teaching us that joy cannot be bought, that shared laughter is a bridge, and that in the midst of everything, there is always a reason to shine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Isa Navas<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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\u201cPlay, presence, and listening. We are welcomed with rice and tomato, eggs with everything, and a glass of milk with panela. They care for us. At every step they shout, \u2018\u00a1S\u00ed, se puede!\u2019 They approach the suitcase and are amazed by magic. <\/p>\n\n

Thank you, boys and girls, for your awake smiles and your present games.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Rosi Cozar Navarro<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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This expedition was possible thanks to the support of<\/p>\n\n

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Colombia suffers from an internal conflict that generates violence and forced displacement, especially in regions such as Choc\u00f3. According to UNHCR, the country ranks first in the world for the number of internally displaced persons, with more than 7.8 million people affected. Txetxe, Rosi, Isa, and Tatiana, dedicated clowns who are part of our organization, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[70,69,68,67,66],"class_list":["post-2901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-expeditions","tag-2025-en","tag-colombia-en","tag-expedicio-en","tag-expedicions-en","tag-expeditions"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clowns.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clowns.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clowns.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clowns.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clowns.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/clowns.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2901\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clowns.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clowns.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clowns.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clowns.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}