Public Health Campaign

Alarmed by the plight of the children she found in the streets of Bahir Dar, Wude Zeleke teamed up with the only NGO in the area that was engaged in the fight against the AIDS epidemic - the Anti-Malaria Association. Being a tremendous attention-getter with its street performances, the circus since its inception has served as a first rate educational tool, bringing HIV/AIDS awareness to the masses. Its young performers, many themselves street children made orphan by the disease, are being taught - and in turn, through their performance, teach - the dangers of this terrible disease, and how to prevent it.

Througout Africa education is the single greatest hurdle - so the focus of the circus is very deliberately directed: to teach an audience through popular entertainment. And it works!