KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Their costumes are put on with surgical precision: Floppy hats, foam noses, bright clothes, and a ukulele with multicolored nylon strings.
Associated PressTetiana Nosova, who goes by the clown name of Zhuzha, a volunteer from the"Bureau of Smiles and Support" plays a ukulele as she stands with Michael Bilyk, who is held by his mother Antonina Malyshko, and Kira Vertetska, 8, at Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday Sept. 19, 2024.
The"Bureau of Smiles and Support" is a hospital clowning initiative established in 2023 by Olha Bulkina, 35, and Maryna Berdar, 39, who already had more than five years of hospital clowning experience between them."Our mission is to let childhood continue regardless of the circumstances," Bulkina, told The Associated Press.
The hospital clowns, who use traditional clown noses and bright costumes, are now visiting multiple hospitals in the Ukrainian capital region, including the National Cancer Institute, where patient numbers have surged after the Okhmatdyt attack. In a city grappling with nightly air raid alerts and power outages, overworked doctors say the presence of the volunteers brings a much-needed distraction, often helping children who had been undergoing painful medical treatment to feel happy again.
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