SWEET MEXICO! SUPPORT AN EDUCATIONAL SOCIAL CIRCUS PROJECT IN THE MAYAN COMMUNITY!

Hi, I'm Hania - the master of smiling :D Probably your good heart or pure curiosity made you read this text, so here it goes! I am taking another big step in my charitable actions for kids in need.

For two years I have been taking part in social circus projects. I have already worked with children in Poland, Kenya, Berlin and Mexico. The time has come for my own action!

 In January 2022 I plan to start the project "What is your essence?" of my authorship. It will be 5 months of intensive art and circus activities for children from the Mayan community living in an incredibly isolated town of San Juan de Dios, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

WHY SAN JUAN DE DIOS?

Because when I visited this country a few months ago, I fell in love with its magic and beauty, and most of all, with the good that comes from the heart of the local people, who unfortunately often live in extreme poverty and suffer from a lack of support from the government. I was very lucky to be able to get to places in the middle of the jungle inhabited by Mayan communities - yes, the Mayan ancestors are still among us! Admittedly, fewer and fewer of them use the traditional language and cultivate ancient rituals. Today's Maya are being pushed to the margins of society, displaced by force, robbed of their land and the opportunity to live in accordance with the beliefs of their ancestors.

In March 2021, other community workers and I came to San Juan de Dios, one of the remote villages from civilization, to conduct circus activities for children who had been unable to go to school for about a year due to the pandemic, and online lessons were prevented by the lack of coverage in such a deep jungle. It's hard to describe how heartbreaking it was to see the eagerness of the activity-hungry children to play and their willingness to be active due to covid restrictions. The pandemic meant that instead of spending time learning or playing, most of the children had to help their parents with heavy agricultural work or business to help support the family. Thirsty for free time and interesting activities, children from the community with a bit of shyness yet a huge amount of sincere desire were gathering to get a taste of a little circus magic. 

I was hugely struck by their situation, as with the unhealthy impact of television and unhealthy food on the condition of the villagers. The littered nature and blinded minds are the effects of "civilized" culture on the daily lives of the Maya. The simultaneous lack of contact with the outside world makes it impossible for the children to hope for a future other than the one recreated by previous generations - working in the fields and services for tourists. Seeing this, I decided to give them at least a little insight into the possibilities for the future that their community cannot provide, and above all, insight into themselves to find what can drive them to fulfill their own dreams. This is why I have created a plan of artistic activities that I am actively fundraising for. 

GET TO KNOW THE IDEA OF THE PROJECT

Together with artists ans teachers from Mexico we want to create a magical and safe space for the children from the community, where they will have the opportunity to try themselves in diverse types of art. All the classes are going to be focused on the importance of self expression. The trainers are going to encourage the participants to explore their own creativity and provide them with tools which will allow them to create in everyday life. All that is going to be reinforced with games and the atmosphere of playing which will help us to integrate and learn how to cooperate with each other.

We are going to teach the children specific circus skills like:

- juggling, hooping, poi and staff spinning

- healthy movement practice

- wakening of the feeling of the rhythm and music.

ECOLOGY has a very important place in the project, so we will raise awareness about it through up-cycling art, building circus props for children and creating objects of everyday use. We will teach about ways of carrying about the environment and bringing meaningful changes to the lifestyle of the community. In addition to that we will also provide time for manual activities where children will be able to express themselves in a nonverbal way.

During the project we will exercise the body and mind, we will use imagination and develop social skills. This holistic approach to education is going to expand children’s idea on how they can interact, play and prosper. 

The project is aiming to encourage the children to keep practicing new skills and fulfilling weekly challenges also outside of the classes. By bringing the diversity of art to the community we want to widen the horizons of the children, so that they allow themselves to dream and plan bigger than it seems possible.

Each month will be devoted to a specific subject that will finish with a presentation of our work in the communal space. This can be a show based on the skills we have learned, an exhibition of the manual art, demonstration of the ecology project or the activity run by the children for the rest of the community. These events are going to bring the inhabitants together and create the possibility for the children to see the value of their work. 

At the final of the project we will organise an event in one of the surrounding cities so that children will be able to present the effects of their creative process outside of the community in front of the bigger audience. This experience will allow them to connect with people from outside of the community and will open their minds to the possibility of sharing their artistic work with a wider public and be appreciated for it.

For the project to be sustainable afterwards, we will leave the self-build equipment for the children, so that they can keep on practicing and playing together.

To be able to bring all this to life, I have been personally on tour in Europe sharing my art since September. In Berlin I entertained people with my clown show at traffic lights, and in Valencia I performed on the boulevards and one of the main squares with a circus show about love and I have warmed hearts with fire dancing.

      Every little bit of support will enable me to:

- the purchase of materials for circus equipment and art supplies, which will be donated to the community so that even after the project ends the children can continue to create and express what is in their souls.

- Salary for artists conducting music, dance, art and circus classes.

If you believe, as I do, that it is worth investing time, energy and money in young generations and encouraging them to discover new solutions in life, then please support my project in any way you can. Who knows who we would be if we were told from an early age that everything is possible, the world is wide open, and the power to make changes lies within ourselves? That's what I want to instill through art in the minds of these young people. Donate, and the universe will thank you!

A huge thank you also from me, of course, for every little support :)

English below:

SWEET MEXICO! SUPPORT AN EDUCATIONAL SOCIAL CIRCUS PROJECT IN THE MAYAN COMMUNITY!

Hi, I'm Hania - the master of smiling :D Probably your good heart or pure curiosity made you read this text, so here it goes! I am taking another big step in my charitable actions for kids in need.

For two years I have been taking part in social circus projects. I have already worked with children in Poland, Kenya, Berlin and Mexico. The time has come for my own action!

 In January 2022 I plan to start the project "What is your essence?" of my authorship. It will be 5 months of intensive art and circus activities for children from the Mayan community living in an incredibly isolated town of San Juan de Dios, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

WHY SAN JUAN DE DIOS?

Because when I visited this country a few months ago, I fell in love with its magic and beauty, and most of all, with the good that comes from the heart of the local people, who unfortunately often live in extreme poverty and suffer from a lack of support from the government. I was very lucky to be able to get to places in the middle of the jungle inhabited by Mayan communities - yes, the Mayan ancestors are still among us! Admittedly, fewer and fewer of them use the traditional language and cultivate ancient rituals. Today's Maya are being pushed to the margins of society, displaced by force, robbed of their land and the opportunity to live in accordance with the beliefs of their ancestors.

In March 2021, other community workers and I came to San Juan de Dios, one of the remote villages from civilization, to conduct circus activities for children who had been unable to go to school for about a year due to the pandemic, and online lessons were prevented by the lack of coverage in such a deep jungle. It's hard to describe how heartbreaking it was to see the eagerness of the activity-hungry children to play and their willingness to be active due to covid restrictions. The pandemic meant that instead of spending time learning or playing, most of the children had to help their parents with heavy agricultural work or business to help support the family. Thirsty for free time and interesting activities, children from the community with a bit of shyness yet a huge amount of sincere desire were gathering to get a taste of a little circus magic. 

I was hugely struck by their situation, as with the unhealthy impact of television and unhealthy food on the condition of the villagers. The littered nature and blinded minds are the effects of "civilized" culture on the daily lives of the Maya. The simultaneous lack of contact with the outside world makes it impossible for the children to hope for a future other than the one recreated by previous generations - working in the fields and services for tourists. Seeing this, I decided to give them at least a little insight into the possibilities for the future that their community cannot provide, and above all, insight into themselves to find what can drive them to fulfill their own dreams. This is why I have created a plan of artistic activities that I am actively fundraising for. 

GET TO KNOW THE IDEA OF THE PROJECT

Together with artists ans teachers from Mexico we want to create a magical and safe space for the children from the community, where they will have the opportunity to try themselves in diverse types of art. All the classes are going to be focused on the importance of self expression. The trainers are going to encourage the participants to explore their own creativity and provide them with tools which will allow them to create in everyday life. All that is going to be reinforced with games and the atmosphere of playing which will help us to integrate and learn how to cooperate with each other.

We are going to teach the children specific circus skills like:

- juggling, hooping, poi and staff spinning

- healthy movement practice

- wakening of the feeling of the rhythm and music.

ECOLOGY has a very important place in the project, so we will raise awareness about it through up-cycling art, building circus props for children and creating objects of everyday use. We will teach about ways of carrying about the environment and bringing meaningful changes to the lifestyle of the community. In addition to that we will also provide time for manual activities where children will be able to express themselves in a nonverbal way.

During the project we will exercise the body and mind, we will use imagination and develop social skills. This holistic approach to education is going to expand children’s idea on how they can interact, play and prosper. 

The project is aiming to encourage the children to keep practicing new skills and fulfilling weekly challenges also outside of the classes. By bringing the diversity of art to the community we want to widen the horizons of the children, so that they allow themselves to dream and plan bigger than it seems possible.

Each month will be devoted to a specific subject that will finish with a presentation of our work in the communal space. This can be a show based on the skills we have learned, an exhibition of the manual art, demonstration of the ecology project or the activity run by the children for the rest of the community. These events are going to bring the inhabitants together and create the possibility for the children to see the value of their work. 

At the final of the project we will organise an event in one of the surrounding cities so that children will be able to present the effects of their creative process outside of the community in front of the bigger audience. This experience will allow them to connect with people from outside of the community and will open their minds to the possibility of sharing their artistic work with a wider public and be appreciated for it.

For the project to be sustainable afterwards, we will leave the self-build equipment for the children, so that they can keep on practicing and playing together.

To be able to bring all this to life, I have been personally on tour in Europe sharing my art since September. In Berlin I entertained people with my clown show at traffic lights, and in Valencia I performed on the boulevards and one of the main squares with a circus show about love and I have warmed hearts with fire dancing.

      Every little bit of support will enable me to:

- the purchase of materials for circus equipment and art supplies, which will be donated to the community so that even after the project ends the children can continue to create and express what is in their souls.

- Salary for artists conducting music, dance, art and circus classes.

If you believe, as I do, that it is worth investing time, energy and money in young generations and encouraging them to discover new solutions in life, then please support my project in any way you can. Who knows who we would be if we were told from an early age that everything is possible, the world is wide open, and the power to make changes lies within ourselves? That's what I want to instill through art in the minds of these young people. Donate, and the universe will thank you!

A huge thank you also from me, of course, for every little support :)