He says sometimes children open up to him about the trauma they've experienced. Guillaume Vermette performing for children in Burkina Faso in West Africa in 2016. "It's very difficult to work with kids and it's very important to do it in a proper way. He says many moments have stayed with him over the years, when kids felt comfortable revealing tragic details about their experiences, including the loss of family members. Kids need structure, need rituals and need a safe space where they can express themselves." "My goal is to bring safety.… I'm not talking about physical safety, but emotional safety. "I'll be honest, I'm a bit scared," said Vermette. This will be Vermette's first time stepping into an active war zone. Vermette has been a clown for 18 years, volunteering and working across parts of Nunavik, Syria, Greece, Russia, Lebanon and Jordan in isolated communities, orphanages and refugee camps. This time next week the volunteer from Trois-Rivières, Que., who calls himself a humanitarian clown, will be entertaining kids and families in Lviv - several hundred kilometres west of the front line of the war which erupted after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Guillaume Vermette is packing his clown wardrobe - red nose, suspenders and colourful suit - for a two-week trip to Ukraine.
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