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Russia, Bosnia, Romania and Hungary – these four countries were visited by the Pinocchio children’s circus during the summer. Regardless of where the circus stopped on its tour, the aim was the same: to give disadvantaged children an opportunity to get involved and experience the feeling of greater self-esteem and togetherness. The trip was financed by the Sir Peter Ustinov Foundation.

“We met people who gave us the feeling that we were at just the right place at just the right time.” This is how Josef (Jupp) Steinbusch summarised his experiences of Pinocchio’s summer tour. The Aachen children’s circus, of which Steinbusch is the director, travelled to St. Petersburg in Russia and – for the 14th time – to the Balkans. “It involves thousands of miles on bumpy roads – and that’s exhausting. But you just have to see the shine in the children’s eyes and any amount of effort is worth it,” said the 67-year-old.
When Jupp Steinbusch visits orphanages, hospitals or what used to be crisis regions, he transforms himself into Juppino the clown. His maxim is “the more tears of laughter, the fewer the tears of sorrow” and this is the basis for the circus programme he develops with his helpers. Finally, Juppino’s protégés present their act to the audience.
“What many of these children have to cope with every day would even be difficult for an adult to deal with,” says Jupp Steinbusch. It is scarcely possible for anyone living in Central Europe to have any concept of the poverty experienced by orphans in Romanian orphanages. “The assistants looking after these orphans put their heart and soul into looking after the children. In spite of this, experiences like the circus, which they can also join in, are rare highlights.”
The children are equally passionate when it comes to getting involved when Juppino practices sketches, and small musical and acrobatic numbers with them – regardless of whether they are in the former Yugoslavia or in St. Petersburg. In the metropolis on the River Neva, the places where the children’s circus stops include a hospital for children with cancer and an orphanage for children with AIDS – Peter Ustinov House, which is financed by the Peter Ustinov Foundation. Many of the children who live there are themselves infected with HIV.
The Foundation is particularly keen to get the Pinocchio circus project to return to St. Petersburg. “Regretfully, HIV-infected children are still a taboo subject in Russian society,” says Foundation Chairman Günter Conrad. “Josef Steinbusch and his circus counteract this, because they bring joy into the orphans’ lives and boost their self-esteem.” Günter Conrad is therefore proud that the Sir Peter Ustinov Foundation can provide financial support for the Pinocchio children’s circus.

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