A pair of Palestinian clowns is offering some laughs and relief to children with chronic illnesses at pediatric wards in hospitals in the Gaza Strip.

With no circus or fair in Gaza to offer employment, Majed Kaloub and Alaa Miqdad began reaching out to kids in kindergartens and schools. Now, thanks to the aid of CISS, an Italian nonprofit organization, they have found a niche for their work in hospitals, bringing some much needed cheer to sick children.

Neither is formally trained in medical clowning, a profession popularized by American doctor Patch Adams and in which Israel's University of Haifa offers a bachelor's degree, but their goal is the same - to raise the spirit of young patients in an already sad part of the world.