Cries of laughter as clown doctors arrive in Yangon

Bridge of Life Foundation submitted a clown doctors program proposal to Myanmar’s Ministry of Health, which gave the group permission to conduct the program at Yangon Children’s Hospital.
The program has been welcomed by both children and parents, said Ko Htet Paing Oo, known around the wards as “Dr Gawky”.
“Parents have not seen their children smile for a long time because they are anxious and upset over their pain. The parents feel relief when they see their children smiling again,” he said.
Another member of the team, Ma Kyi Nyein Chan Kyaw, agreed that parents welcomed the clown doctors warmly. “Sometimes, parents even wake their children up when we arrive because they know we will make them happy.”
Ko Hein Htike Aung said: “We try to distract children, parents and hospital staff during what is normally an anxious and boring time. We want the hospital to be a happy and active environment rather than a boring place.”
But he said they face some difficulties, particularly because clowns are not common in Myanmar. “So some children are afraid of us and some parents seem to think, ‘Who are these people and what are they doing, messing around in here?’” said Ko Hein Htike Aung.
To alleviate these concerns, they try to cooperate as closely as possible with the hospital’s doctors and nurses. All of the clown doctors said they wanted to be considered not just sources of entertainment but also providers of psychosocial support to needy children.
And the doctors proved popular on the day that The Myanmar Times visited Yangon Children’s Hospital. The mother of patient Mg Ye Kyaw Thu, from Yangon’s Shwe Pyi Thar township, said she was impressed by the program.
“We only came to the hospital yesterday so this is the first time we have seen [the clown doctors]. My son was very amused, they were really funny.”
The grandmother of Mg La Yaung Than from Taikkyi said: “My grandson was afraid of them at first but now he likes playing with them. They have many toys to amuse the kids.”
And what makes a good clown doctor? A sense of humour, energy and optimistic outlook, they agreed.
“We really need to be happy to be able to make other people happy. We even take a break from this work when we are feeling unhappy ourselves and restart when we feel better,” Ko Htet Paing Oo said.
Given its success after just six months, the clown doctors said they hope to be able to expand the program to other children’s hospitals around the country.

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