Thank you to Care4Calais for their recent post:
“Today we’d like to thank an amazing man who brings real joy to the lives of refugee children.
Jamie Jibberish is the world’s only “humanitarian magician”. Over the last few years he’s done countless shows for groups run by our volunteers, and anyone who has seen the uplifting effect on kids stuck in hotels never forgets it.
Jamie’s real name is Jamie Balfour-Paul. His love of magic started as a boy, as it does for so many. He worked on the front line of humanitarian aid settings for 30 years, spending many years in Lebanon, but his appreciation for magic and performance never left.
Jamie understands that magic transports people to a wonderful place, and wanted to bring it to children who had experienced some of the worst traumas in the world. He started taking magic shows to refugee camps as Jamie Jibberish, and in 2019 created his charity Magic For Smiles.
He now visits dozens of audiences of refugee children and families across the UK and Middle East every year. He uses his famous treasure box, beautifully embellished with silver and filled with tricks, as he hosts interactive shows and workshops.
“I call it Magic For Smiles because it’s the smiles on the kids’ faces that motivate me to do this”, says Jamie, speaking to us from Jordan where his next shows were scheduled.
“I see magic as having three areas of benefit. Emotional – bringing happiness and joy. Cognitive – helping imagination, analysis skills and concentration. And social.”
Of course there are a few government ministers we’d like to make disappear. He’s not saying whether he’s perfected that spell yet, but we’re hoping he’s got something up his sleeve
Magic For Smiles and Jamie’s shows relying on public donations to run. To support his magical work, visit his website to donate at magicforsmiles.com/.
If you work with refugee communities and wish to book a show with Jamie, you can find his contact details on his website too.”
