The Resource Alliance (formerly known as The International Fund Raising Group)

The Resource Alliance (formerly known as The International Fund Raising Group): "DOUTORES DA ALEGRIA: THE CHALLENGE OF TURNING JOY INTO A TANGIBLE SOCIAL INVESTMENT




Doutores da Alegria (Doctors of Happiness) is Brazil�s pioneer organisation devoted to bringing joy to the lives of hospitalized children, their parents and health care workers through the art of clowning. Twice a week, six hours a day forty-eight weeks a year, thirty-seven professional artists visit children in twelve major hospitals of Brazil: seven in S�o Paulo, three in Recife and two in Rio de Janeiro - performing delightful parodies of medical routines on a one-on-one basis. These �clown-doctors� undergo a specific six-month training period, followed by constant reviews in medical and artistic protocol, which enables them to work in special units such as bone-marrow transplant, intensive care, burn and other areas where access is usually restricted to major public. "