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Magicians Without Borders Needs Our Help

Tom Verner and Janet Fredericks bring their Magicians Without Borders mission to orphanages and refugee camps around the world. The local Mumbai (formerly known as “Bombay”) gave a great write-up for the Vermont couple who have taken on the challenge of finding audiences in the midst of war, poverty and starvation.

Mr. Verner is a professor of psychology at Burlington College and his wife, Janet, works as both a teacher and artist. But that those are their vocations. Their avocation is to not only run the Magicians Without Borders program but fully staff it. The two have performed in such daunting venues as, Haiti, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Croatia. There is nothing saccharine about their sentiment. They are not being do-gooders performing for their own edification. They perform their magic for the children and refugees because the art form is an universal language. The crowds that come to see them or that they come to entertain can understand and enjoy their performance whether they speak the same verbal language or not.

The couple began the ambitious and now internationally recognized program in 2002 and their dedication to go into the more difficult situations earned the respect of organizations dedicated to helping the poorest among us.

Mr. Verner told the Mumbai reporter, ?Our show at the home for the mentally disabled was a special experience. I?ve never felt so sad leaving a place after a performance as I did there. I?ve particularly noticed that in all the homes we?ve visited, the girls have a kind of exuberance in them.” Their performance came despite the community’s superintendent skepticism. The formerly cynical overseer told the couple he had never seen “a room so full of laughter.”

Ms. Fredericks is at once philosophical and practical about their efforts: ?We don?t think that we are doing anything great, I believe that it is a mutual process of give and take. Having performed at refugee camps and in war-torn countries, we have often wondered if we just served as a temporary band-aid, but I believe that at a spiritual level, we are making some difference.?

The couple has quite a schedule ahead. They will head on to Bangladesh and then make a stop in Rome at the invitation of Pope John Paul II. He has asked them to attend a…

Magicians Without Borders Needs Our Help

The couple has quite a schedule ahead. They will head on to Bangladesh and then make a stop in Rome at the invitation of Pope John Paul II. He has asked them to attend a special gathering of performers who use the circus “as a medium for social good.”

The Magicians Without Borders program is privately funded through the donations of magicians and non-magicians. It is not a government project and while it has very good relations with the United Nations, it is not affiliated with the organization.

You can read the full story by clicking here.

You can read more about the Magicians Without Borders program by clicking here. They survive on donations from folks like us. If you find it within your means to contribute, you can do so through their site.