Spreading Joy, Building Hope: MMCC News

Autumn 2026

Afghanistan

All 38 teams (21 girls' and 17 boys' teams) in 17 provinces of Afghanistan have regular weekly activities, including rehearsals, collective games, and even public performances. The teams are semi-independent and are supplied, monitored, mentored, and financially supported by our network. Regular Wednesday Zoom meetings, together with a range of seasonal activities such as championships and celebrations such as World Circus Day, make the teams feel like one big family who are very well connected despite hundreds of kilometers distance. In the last few months, our teams have participated in many official celebrations and are becoming more and more popular. Our Bangladesh teams are also part of this synergistic interactive forum where the teams with different capacities support and inspire each other. 

Against All Odds: More Girls! Despite all the restrictions, the number of girls’ teams and activities in Afghanistan keeps growing. This works because of how our teams are organised. Each team is semi-independent: it runs its own local activities with its own local resources, and we give it only light mentoring and support. This model keeps working where others have stopped. Today it’s one of the very few ways girls in Afghanistan can still come together to play, learn and perform.

Rohingya Camps in Cox's Bazar

Thanks to financial support from “Up With People”, and our local partners KOINONIA & Flourish Foundation, we keep the activities in the Rohingya Camps 14, 15 and 16 and at designated venues in the host community in Cox's Bazar. Children join to learn, practice, and contribute to their communities through their performances. The children are learning juggling, hula hoop, Chinese plate spinning, parachute games, and warm-up and collective games, gaining new skills while playing together. Separate sessions for girls continue in all three camps, led by female trainers, so girls can take part in a comfortable environment. This approach worked well in our previous project, and we are building on it.

Circus of Hope, in Dhaka Slums

Together with our local partner NGO, Flourish Foundation, we’re bringing social circus to children in Dhaka’s slum communities through our new Circus of Hope program. Social circus uses various circus arts, games and performances to give children a safe space to play, build confidence and learn important life skills. To keep this work going in the long run, we’re also training a new generation of local trainers. Young people from the community learn circus skills, teaching methods and how to run activities themselves. Our first group recently completed their training by Mr. Jules our volunteer Social Circus master and proudly received their certificates. Thanks to them, more children in Dhaka will soon be able to laugh, learn and dream again. You can support our work in Bangladesh here: www.globalgiving.org/projects/circus-of-hope

Emergency with fun

MMCC has started a new activity in partnership with KOINONIA, one of our local partners in Bangladesh, to deliver emergency help to families hit by severe flooding in Cox’s Bazar. The three-month project started on 15 September 2026 and is funded by DERF (Danish Emergency Relief Fund) through CISU (Civil Society in Development). This project will reach 800 households, about 4,780 people. That includes 600 Rohingya refugee families in Camps 14, 15, and 16 and 200 vulnerable families from the local host community. Each household gets a package of emergency shelter materials, essential household items, and hygiene supplies. Mothers will join hygiene sessions in their courtyards. More than 570 children will take part in over 100 social circus sessions that mix play and games with hygiene awareness, helping them recover from what they’ve been through. 

Mobile Winter Headquarters in Bangladesh

This winter, we are temporarily moving MMCC’s headquarters to Bangladesh for three months. Being closer to our field activities will allow us to provide more direct support to our teams and local partner organizations, strengthen collaboration, and create new opportunities for learning and exchange. We will bring together capacities from across our network, including our Afghan colleagues, interns from Denmark, and a volunteer artist from the UK. At the same time, we will facilitate visits by the Flying Seagull Project from the UK and Clowns Without Borders from Spain, supporting them to perform and conduct workshops in Dhaka’s slums and Rohingya refugee camps. It will be a winter of connection, collaboration, and joyful progress, strengthening our local partnerships and bringing more opportunities for children and young people to experience the power of social circus.

General Assembly & New Board

On 1 September, MMCC held its Annual General Meeting on Zoom, with members joining from several countries. Together we reviewed the Board’s report on the past year and the annual accounts, and elected the new Board. This year, for the first time, our team leaders took part directly from Afghanistan. It was a rare chance for all our members to hear several of our female team leaders speak in their own words and share their experiences. Their voices were a powerful reminder of why we do this work.

We are delighted to welcome a new team:

If Luck Will Come – A Film on the Move

Our documentary If Luck Will Come (Cirkus i Afghanistan) has been a great success. After its premiere at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen in March, it appeared at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland. There, our volunteer juggler friends joined us with performances and workshops to bring the film to a wider audience. The film is now available to watch on DR.TV and continues its journey through festivals around the world. We are so grateful to the volunteer artists Gerardo Tetilla, Mr. Jules, and all the volunteer jugglers who came to Locarno to celebrate with us, perform, and run the workshops. Thank you for sharing the joy!

Celebrating 25 years of MMCC

It feels like yesterday, but almost a quarter of a century has passed since MMCC began. We’ve reached more than 4 million people through thousands of performances and workshops in hundreds of venues, and we’re stronger than ever. In 2027 we celebrate our 25th anniversary, and one day isn’t enough, so we’re making it a whole year. Throughout the year, there will be events in several countries, both in person and online: performances, exhibitions, film screenings, talks, and more. We’d love you to be part of it, whether you come to watch or help make something happen. Write to us at info@mmccglobal.org and tell us how you’d like to take part. More details coming soon!

Double your gift NOW

Since 2002, MMCC has brought joy, learning, and hope to children in Afghanistan, especially girls. Many donors and organizations have left, but we’re still here, with 38 Social Circus teams in 17 provinces. Right now, every donation to our GlobalGiving project is matched 100% through the Safer World Fund, up to $1,000 per donor. Your $50 becomes $100, and your $1,000 becomes $2,000. The matching funds are limited and run out on a first-come, first-served basis, so please give soon. Every gift helps girls and boys keep laughing, learning and growing. Donate now: www.globalgiving.org/projects/backtolife

We can’t do it alone!

As a Danish charity, we need at least 300 members to be allowed to fundraise. Hitting this milestone will also open doors to international and governmental funding. Join us to help unlock more resources and create a greater impact.

Annual membership is just $15 / €15 / DKK100 . Pay here: https://buy.stripe.com/00gcQi3pQaVge5y8wL

Or via PayPal (info@afghanmmcc.org) / Bank transfer:

(IBAN: DK7653310000302374 SWIFT: ALBADKKK).

With gratitude and warm regards,

Berit & David