A motley crew of 18 individuals gather at the terrace of Game City in Holy City Centre on the road to CMC every Saturday beginning with breathing and warm up exercises for their unique session every Saturday.

The gathering is clearly not a typical exercise club. The first batch of students enrolled in laughter class, is touted by the organiser Belachew Girma, 45, to be the first laughter class in Africa. Operating from his offices on Maty Building located on Equatorial Guinea road, Belachew conducts a two hour laughter session with his students every Saturday. The sessions are accompanied by cackles, guffaws and chuckles to be interrupted with interludes of serious lectures on laughter and what it could do for people.

World laughter master, Belachew, is in the Guinness World Book of Records with the longest laughter of three hours and six minutes. Though the session is all about laughter, the issues addressed are serious. His students range from those suffering from nerve complications, depression and the garden variety enthusiast.

The sessions start with a good stretch and some deep breathing before quickly spiralling into contagious giggle fits. In between giggling sessions, Belachew explains to the students the physiology of laughter and what it does to help build communication and release pent up stress.

"Taking deep breaths between laughs improves the amount of oxygenated blood to the brain and releases endorphins after about five to 10 minutes of pure laughter. Endorphins help us deal with pain management, it's even stronger than morphine," he tells students in between laughing sessions.

Late comers are not allowed to go right into the cacophony of laughter but are required to go into a warm up session of a brisk walk accompanied with a short conversation to put them in the mood.

Following the brief interlude they slowly join the group using their signature greetings of “Oho oho ahas” before joining their fellow classmates.

Belachew chose the unlikely venue on Holy City Centre with a scenic vantage point of the forests near Gurd Shola as he believes that laugher and nature are interlinked.

“Seeing green pastures and nature in its raw has deep psychological impact. You feel at ease and can sense the daily stress in your life slowly withering away. I want my students to enjoy the outdoors rather than be cooped up in a room,” Belachew noted on why he chose the terrace.

The ruckus from the fits of laughter of the over a dozen students also gathers curious onlookers from the arcade and gaming room at Game City as well as staff at Holy Centre prompting even the casual observer to engage in their own laughter session.

Despite the odd mix of students, Belachew laments the shortage of women students in his class.

“Cultural women are not encouraged to laugh heartily as prevailing sentiment is that it is unladylike. If anything, laughter helps women cope in labour as it helps produce endorphins that suppress pain,” Belachew told Fortune.

“It is a sad reflection that traditions do not allow people to enjoy laughter. In other nations, the majority of the attendees in laughter classes would be women. However, the case is quite different in Ethiopia.”

Although still in its second month since opening, Belachew claims that he is seeing more and more people taking interest in his school. The school charges a monthly tuition of 350 Br for students and 449 Br for adults.

The tuition fees are meant to cover expenses such as refreshments and other expenses related to training, Belachew stated.

In addition, Belachew sees a potential new crop of laughter therapists that might one day help him set up a laughter therapy centre with his first batch of students. One such candidate is Berhanu Gebre.

Berhanu, 22, a psychologist working as an officer at the Yeka District’s Women & Youth Office, says he takes inspiration from Belachew and the way he deals with people.

“I have taken lessons from Belachew on how to approach people, he taught me that laughter is very important towards breaking whatever barriers that may exists between you and your patient,” Berhanu said.

“One day, I hope to open a psychoanalysis treatment office, and I believe that this course would give me valuable insight on how to go about it.”

Another student looking at the course for career advancement is Yeshiwas Assefa, 32, who is a motivational teacher.

Yeshiwas can relate to how humour and laughter can diffuse stressful situations as well as inspire creativity.

“Laughter is a tool that is often overlooked; it helps breaking the ice and facilitates smoother communication. I can see that the laughter school will be of valuable service to the public,” Yeshiwas said.

Besides possible career advancement the school also provides therapy services to people undergoing psychological problems.

“There are individuals who cannot laugh because of some deep psychological trauma, they are aloof and shutdown,” Belachew explained. “It is a condition that requires careful treatment and constant follow up. The other thing that can prevent someone from laughing is physical trauma to the frontal lobe of the brain.”

Not new to trying situations, Belachew has had his own personal battles that include the death of his wife, contracting the HIV/AIDS virus, and losing his business first in a fire and then in a flood. What saved him, he asserts, was studying psychology and including a dash of spirituality, and this combination introduced him to the world of laughter.

Today, Belachew believes that people can learn to laugh more wherever they are located, which is why he takes his craft wherever he goes. He has given seminars at the Israeli Embassy in Addis Abeba, lectured at Ben Gurion University in Israel, and conducted seminars for companies. Besides this he says he is on a mission to impart knowledge of what he terms “indigenous Ethiopian laughter,” and is going on a motivational speech tour, offering seminars for companies.

He says that the potential in laughter therapy remains untapped, as the elderly Alemayehu Anbesse (Eng), who has a growth on the right side of his face, is quick to point out.

“I truly believe that I can get cured from this ailment through laughter,” beamed Alemayehu.

Despite initial scepticisms on the therapeutic effects of laughter, anyone who has just attended Belachew’s session will likely suspect that he is onto something; taking inspiration from the age old adage, “Laughter is the best medicine.”

Belachew Girma, Guinness World Book of Record holder for the longest laugh, holds a laugh session with the odd mix but laments at the shortage of women in his classes.

By SAMSON HAILEYESUS,
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF