In photos: Kabul children shout with joy as circus comes to town

KABUL -- Children in Kabul got a break from their daily routines last month to laugh and shout with joy as entertainers, part of the Mobile Mini Circus for Children (MMCC), put on a show.

Held at the Bagh-e-Babur Garden in Kabul from August 1-8, the festival included many performances and events including national and international juggling championships.

The MMCC and its local partner, the Afghan Educational Children Circus (AECC), have performed and made workshops for more than 2.7 million children in 25 Afghan provinces since 2002, according to the MMCC website.

"The combination of entertaining and essential educational messages such as health, landmine awareness, peace and back to school/importance of education, delivered by professional Afghan artists in a pure local context, has proved to pave the road for cultural activities even in parts of the country where music, singing and other forms of artistic expression have been suppressed or forgotten for decades," the website says.