Smiling faces at the asylum seekers center in Assen. More than forty asylum seekers’ children experienced an unforgettable day this afternoon with Circus Piccolo from the Wolkentheater foundation.
The summer holidays are usually an extra difficult period for children in asylum seekers’ centres. Their school is closed, there are few distractions and while others go on holiday, they are forced to stay behind all summer. That is why the Wolkentheater is organizing a circus tour along many asylum seekers’ centers throughout the country. A festival atmosphere is created in the open air: tents are set up, flags are hung, tables and benches are placed.
For the actors of the Wolkentheater it is mainly about giving the children a pleasant day, says actress Marcella van de Velden. “We would like to share joy with the children. Most of these children do not go on holiday, so we want to give them a fun afternoon without worries. In order to interrupt the daily grind.”
A number of workshops were organized prior to the show. Where the children were taught a dance and they could make a drawing. This was followed by the highlight of the afternoon: the performance itself. A performance by the Wolkentheater, with the help of the children of the asylum seekers’ center, was on the program.
The children in Assen are enthusiastic this afternoon and happily participate in everything. “The children speak the language well here, but we try to communicate with hands and feet as much as possible. We show it by dancing and the children can follow. In the end you can always understand each other well,” says van der Velden.
The Wolkentheater Foundation was founded almost thirty years ago by a number of refugees from the former Yugoslavia. The company wants children with a traumatic past to be able to have fun again, to enjoy carefree and to be a normal child again.
The Wolkentheater will be touring throughout the country until July 29.