Some History

The first Theodora Foundation was founded in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, in 1993, on the initiative of two brothers, Andre and Jan Poulie, in memory of their mother, Theodora.

Starting from the premise that the world of children is a world without borders, since April 1994 the Theodora Foundation has focused on developing its program beyond the borders of Switzerland. The first project abroad was in Minsk (Belarus), with the forming of a team of four Clown Doctors who went to visit children suffering from diseases arising from the Chernobyl catastrophe. At the same time a program was launched at Great Ormond Street Hospital in Great Britain, where two clown doctors visited children twice a week. Later, the Theodora Foundation began working in Hong Kong, South Africa, Italy, Turkey, France and Spain.

In Spain, the Fundación Theodora was set up on 24 January 2000, and, on 6 July the same year, it was acknowledged as a fundación benéfico asistencial social (social welfare charitable foundation) by Ministerial Order No. 28/1145 from the Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales [(the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs)]. Thedora is working in twenty Spanish hospitals in Alicante, Barcelona, Elche, Ferrol, Granada, La Coruña, Las Palmas, Madrid, Málaga, Tenerife, Toledo, Santigo de Compostela, Sevilla y Vigo. The Foundation Theodora carries out more than 50.000 visits in Spain to children in hospitals and their families, every year.