New project throughout Hungary

Many of our readers have seen children hospitals inside and outside in Hungary. Most of the hospitals needs more paint and nicer gardens. That is exactly what we are planning to do shortly. Our Communication Manager, Tricia Garrison, is in charge of this very project, which is actually her own brainchild. Focus will be on children drawings on the walls in children rooms and on beautifying the gardens of the hospitals.

We plan to execute this project with the help of volunteers from the business community through the CSR-flag (Corporate Social Responsibility). We already have a few companies in mind with whom we will further discuss all details: which hospital, how many volunteers from the company, professional guidance for painting and gardening, etc.

We all hope that a new elan in Hungarian politics will take place. In any case, we will try from our side to bring a new elan in children wards in Hungary by making wards and gardenings of children hospitals more attractive and therefore uplifting the soul of the young patients, their parents and the medical staff.

Dr Albert Royaards
President of the Board of Trustees
Smiling Hospital Foundation

Smiling Hospital in Morocco

Together with the Founder of the Smiling Hospital Foundation, Countess Éva Csáky Bornemisza, I went to Morocco for three weeks; one week in Casablanca, one week in Marrakech and one week in Rabat. The objective was to meet with the directors of children hospitals in these three cities and to find out whether there would be any interest in a "smiling hospital entertainment". A very clear and positive response from the hospital-directors in all three cities.
The second step was to find local artists, who will give weekly performances. And the final step is to raise funds in Morocco to pay the artists "charity-fees", which will be much lower than the usual commercial remuneration.

The success of our trip was the result of many kind persons. First of all, the Hungarian ambassador in Rabat, Mr László Pap, who organised a "working luncheon" with 12 important guests from the health sector. Then the wonderful help from the family of the Moroccan ambassador to Hungary, Mr Moulay Abbes Kadiri; especially Madame Assia Alami whom we have appointed our "Ambassador" for Morocco. I think that we could start in Morocco within few months.

It was interesting to note how different in a positive way the young generation Moroccans behave when compared to younsters in the Western world: not much smoking, not much drinking of alcohol, no tatouages or any kind of piercings; even obesity seems not much of a problem for those who could afford to pay. Is this because of values in western world become decadent or because families in Morocco stick together and family-discipline still strong? Or does the Islam have such calming effect contrary to what we read about the motivations of terrorists? Much to think about when one travels through Morocco.

We look back at a splendid time in Morocco and are grateful to all those kind persons, who helped us realising our goal to prepare for "smiling hospital activities" in the local hospitals.

Albert Royaards

Morocco in sight

The international activities of the Smiling Hospital Foundation are growing fast. Much of this week will be spent for the preparations of a trip to Morocco by our Founder, Countess Éva Csáky Bornemisza, and myself as President of the Board. We are going to Casablanca, Rabat and Marrakech and hope to witness the first artistic performance while we are there.

We are very grateful to have the support from five ambassadors (three Dutch ones, one Moroccan and one Hungarian). It is always important - when talking about our international activities - to emphasize the fact that all expenses are borne by local sponsors in the respective countries and by individuals like myself. Never we have used and never we will use funds generated in Hungary or any other country for purposes outside that very country.

When back from Morocco, I will recount our experiences on this blog.

Albert Royaards
President of the Board of Trustees
Smiling Hospital Foundation

"Smiling Hospital Golf Weekend" in Hencse on May 29 and 30

For the third year in a row, we are organising a golf tournament. This year will be in Hencse on May 29 and 30. The essential details are below:

Weekend of "Smiling Hospital Golf Tournament" at the European Lakes Golf & Country Club in Hencse on May 29 and 30, 2010. Starting time on May 29 at 12.00 noon. Texas Scramble. Maximum 72 players. For each player a prize!
Total cost: HUF 27.500 for single player and HUF 25.000 per person for a couple. This price includes following:
a) green-fees for two days (tournament on May 29 and free tee-off time on May 30)
b) hotel-room at European Lakes Golf & Country Club
c) celebration dinner in evening of May 29
d) breakfast in morning of May 30
e) donation for Smiling Hospital Foundation

Sponsorship: HUF 500.000 per hole - with "tailor made" promotion for the sponsor in Hencse and through the media.

Golfers and sponsors are most welcome to send me an e-mail if more details required, for confirming participation as a golfer or for discussing possible sponsorships. My e-mail address is: royaards@hu.inter.net

Albert Royaards

Flag of Smiling Hospital Foundation reached top of Kilimanjaro

We are proud and very pleased to have Dr Viktor Szücs on the board of our Foundation. Dr Szücs has taken the effort to bring along a flag of the Smiling Hospital Foundation during his climb of the Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. Once standing on the snowy top of the Kilimanjaro, a photograph was taken by a fellow climber. This picture can been seen on our website: http://www.smilinghospital.com/

These are happy experiences, which inspire us with our work for the sake of sick children in hospitals. It makes us feel for a while as if we ourselves are "on top of the world".

We regard this successful climbing feat as a symbolic introduction to a beginning of our "smiling activities" in Africa later this year. In March, Countess Éva Csáky Bornemisza, our Founder, and I will visit Morocco for meetings with directors of hospitals in Casablanca and Rabat. We hope that Morocco will be the first country on the African continent where we bring smiles to children in hospitals.

Albert Royaards
President of the Board of Trustees
Smiling Hospital Foundation

How to engage the young..........part 2.

Not easy to find the right and elegant method to engage the young people with a good cause as ours. Our last try was using Facebook and to have a page of our own, which we named Smiling Knights; besides we formed a group on Facebook with the name of Smiling Hospital Foundation. During the first few weeks, many names were listed; at the moment 69 Fans for the Smiling Knights and 44 Members of the Smiling Hospital Foundation. But no further increase during last two weeks.
How to get more young people joining us as Fans and Members on Facebook? We tried a quiz and offered to send the winner anywhere in the world (we have Fans and Members from 15 different countries) a book of his choice with a maximum of Euro 20. Nobody applied sofar. Either the question was too difficult or - more likely - users of Facebook only like to chat or read quickly about the latest news and are not inclined to spend time on serious matters.
We are slowly learning to make best use of advanced methods of communication and technology.
But clearly we have not done well in this respect and need support from others. If any reader of this blog has a good idea how to engage young people towards the cause of the Smiling Hospital Foundation, we certainly would much appreciate to hear.
Albert Royaards

How to engage the young....

Hungary is such a beautiful country. I have lived here for already 14 years. I met a great number of wonderful Hungarians in this period and have seen quite a lot of the country during my 6.000 km biking tour through Hungary and on my other trips by train, car, bus, boat and even on foot (my walk in 2001 from Hungary to Holland).
For me (and supposedly for many others as well) it is so sad to see the slow progress Hungary is making in economic, social and many other fields. In many aspects, I see that things get even worse (e.g. many more homeless than in 1996). As long as the reputation of the government, regional and local authorities is known to be corrupt, bureaucratic and with all energy focused on their internal conflicts, I see little hope of change. Until....... the young generation will not accept this anymore.
The young Hungarians will travel and will be able to compare differences in life-style, income and opportunities with other countries. This country needs only a few young, clever and very determined minds to change Hungary for the better. It is a question of time. At one point in the future, Hungary will be as prosperous as many countries in the West and as Hungary has been once in the past.

The Smiling Hospital Foundation will engage the young very soon in a particular way. This effort may contribute towards a change in mentality Hungary needs. About this more next week.

Dr Albert Royaards

To Our Fans of Smiling Knights on Facebook

This post is mainly written for our Fans in Facebook on the page: Smiling Knights.
Question: how to get our Fans engaged in the work of the Smiling Hospital Foundation?
Answer: we are thinking of regularly (monthly?) asking a question through the Page of Smiling Knights in Facebook (for example a question whereby the Fans have to go through our website to find the answer). Then with the help of one of our many corporate sponsors to offer the Fans with the correct answer a nice prize (e.g. a voucher for luncheon in one of the most attractive hotels or restaurants); preferably a prize, which could be used by any Fan anywhere in the world.
This looks as a creative idea, but it will work only if our Fans will read our posts in the Page of Facebook under Smiling Knights.
Before we will decide to implement this project, we like to ask our Fans to give us their comments and suggestions through a post on the page of Smiling Knights in Facebook.

Internationally, we are expanding fast. In March, our Founder and I are going to Morocco for initial discussions to start "smiling hospital activities" in Casablanca.

We are also discussing to re-structure our Website in a way that we could make re-freshments from our own office on a daily basis. Our present webmaster and the kind sponsor Itent kft are thinking for the best and most sophisticated ways to implement the required changes.

Albert Royaards
President of the Board
Smiling Hospital Foundation

YOUR WEEKLY REPORT - Smiling Hospital Foundation getting more international

In China we have started with a volunteers program in two hospitals in Shanghai. Wonderful magicians making children smile. This was already the sixth country where we are active now.

Croatia is starting also soon, we hope. All seems ready for the first visit.

We will now be looking for Morocco and in March we plan to make a first visit to Rabat and Casablanca to meet with hospital-directors and professional artists with a heart for children.

In meantime, our management team is concentrating to expand our program to more hospitals in Hungary.

Dr Albert Royaards
President of the Board of Trustees
Smiling Hospital Foundation

A picture together with Professor Fang Chen, President of one of the oldest and largest children hospitals in Shanghai, the Shanghai Children Hospital. Here we gave a performance with a local
Chinese magician for about 20 children in the oncology department today (31 December, 2009). We will continue visiting this hospital once a month with magicians as volunteers until we have completed the approval process with Chinese authorities for the activities of Smiling Hospital Foundationi in Shanghai.

More pictures will follow.

Dr Albert Royaards

Dr. Royaards' trip will continue in a few weeks. Posts are sent randomly until that time.

October 1, 2009.

A delicious start of the day by having breakfast at the Hasik Hotel, which so kindly sponsored my accomodation for one night. First meeting of the day was with the Notary Public of both villages of Döbrönte and Ganna. Total population about 500 only, but Mrs Bóka Istvánné took 6 membership-cards with the confidence of someone, who will succeed.
The next meeting was with the mayors of Pápakovácsi, Nóráp and the deputy mayor of Kup. The very pleasant meeting ended with the mayors taking up five membership-cards in spite of the small population of about 1.300 for the three municipalities together.
Also the new mayor in Dáka kindly took 2 membership-cards and the jegyző of both Pápaderecske and Nyárád asked for 3 membership-cards.
Sofar the good news. The mayor of Nemesszalók could not be reached and the notary of Külsővat showed so much disrespect and disinterest, that I for the first time left angrily.
All in all, a good day in superb sunny weather. But we are also ready to change the format of our visits as the time-consuming visits of small villages are generating not enough memberships.

September 30, 2009.

One never knows how planned meetings with mayors will turn out. It is interesting that mayors of the smallest villages either forget the meetings or simply just do not turn up. The mayors of the larger cities are always there. Is this a matter of efficiency or a matter of feelings of importance (how smaller you are, the more you have to show your importance).
In any case, the first meetings were quite disappointing, but fully made up later in the day by the very pleasant and constructive meetings with the mayors of Mezőlak, Margyargencs, Kemenesszentpéter, Vinár and Marcalgergelyi. Especially, the discussion with Mr Tamás Boros, mayor of Magyargencs, was a high point of the day; and this not only because he assessed the number of members from his village to be five in spite of the small population of only of 600. If the mayors are right in their evaluation of future members, the day will bring us 22 members.

It was an other beautiful day driving in the countryside, West of Pápa. I am writing this note from Hotel Hasik in Döbrönte, which has very kindly offered accomodation as a "sponsorship in kind". A Swiss-owned small hotel, which has all the necessary and unnecessary amenities of a small luxurious hotel. No wonder that so many staff-members of Nato (base near Pápa) stay in this hotel before their residence is found or made ready.

9. szeptember 29.

Latest photos from the road: with the deputy-mayor of Pápa

September 29, 2009.

Ten municipalities today again. And so happy to be now in Hotel Villa Classica in Pápa to find some rest.
A day of small villages only. Some of the mayors or public notaries were very forthcoming and helpful (Vanyola, Vaszar, Takácsi, Várkesző and Egyházaskesző); others did not show much interest. If actions will realise the intentions, then we will have 14 more members in due course.
We have to see the results by the end of this year.
What a beautiful country-side it was. A pleasure to drive around near Pápa in this wonderful autumn weather. A compensation for the sometimes diasppointing meetings.
An other very positive note is the highly professional manner our office has arranged the program. I am very proud of the staff in our Budapest-office and of course tremendously grateful towards Dr András Béres for the translations of my daily experiences in Hungarian.

September 28, 2009.

An interesting day in nine small villages. Some mayors quite engaged and clearly planning to support us as much as they can by finding the number of memberships we agreed to be possible (Csót, Pápateszér, Gic, Nagydém and certainly also in Lovaspatona (where some Dutchmen and Germans have a summer-house). But also I visited the mayor's offices of very small villages, where the mayors were not around and clerks looked at me with eyes telling me "what are you doing here".
Those are the days that I wonder whether this very much time-consuming project is worth it. Tonight I am the grateful guest of the Griff Hotel in Pápa. A good night's rest will tell me tomorrow whether we have to change course or keep going the same road.

September 25, 2009. Highlight in Pápa.

The deputy-mayor of Pápa, Dr Áldozó Tamás, warmly welcomed me in the company of Rita Benecz and Bea Varga. Also a journalist from the county newspaper, Veszprémi Napló, joined us in the meeting and took pictures afterwards. I heard an interesting lecture about church history in Pápa (the building of the municipality one time belonged to the Benedictine Order like still in present times Tihany and Pannonhalma). Then we had our good discussion about the membership in an other order, namely the "Order of the Smiling Knights". When I mentioned the wish to see 30 members in Papa, Mr Áldozó increased the number to 33 (based on 33.000 inhabitants); this I regarded as a much encouraging sign for our membership in Pápa.
Also the meetings in the small villages of Bakonyjákó, Adásztevel, Nagytevel, Homokbödöge and Ugod were pleasant and gave hope for more members.
This week I saw mayors and other representatives of about 50 cities and villages. It was a well-organised schedule. My sincere thanks to our Project Manager, Anikó Kada, who arranged it all in a very professional and structured manner.

September 24, 2009.

The mayors of Herend, Szentgál, Úrkút, Kislőd, Városlőd and Farkasgyepű were very understanding and certainly will try hard to support us by finding members. Also the deputy-mayor of Márkó, the mayor's assistant in Csehbánya and a staff-member in Bánd will do their very best. Hopefully the total target of the day of 25 will be reached.
And what a success for these municipalities it will be if indeed they are able to get these members! The life in villages is so very difficult with high unemployment, hardly any support from the state and not much hope for a better future. Hearing the stories in the villages gives me a sad picture of the economic circumstances for a great deal of the Hungarian population For many, the time of communism was far better than the present time. Analysing the causes may not be difficult (many decades of communism and - since the change - failing governments), but finding ways to improve the situation is far more challenging.

September 23, 2009. A good day it was!

Not every day includes major cities. But if mayors of small villages take the time to kindly welcome me and to seriously listen to my explanations in broken Hungarian (that often is already a reason for being so attentive:-)), then we are half way. The second half is totally on the part of the mayors when they in all earnest proclaim to support the Foundation for the sake of sick children in the county of Veszprém. Such a day it was today!
Mayors of Csesznek, Bakonyoszlop, Bakonyszentkirály (the three mayor-musketeers during one most pleasant meeting), Borzavár, Bakonybél (here the mayor acted like a Dutchman by stressing that promises to act will be kept - even on the following day!), Pénzesgyőr (four members for a village with only 366 people), the notary public of Porva and the representative of the municipality in Hárskut, made my day! The total target of the day is 23 members and the tone and contents of my discussions today give me full confidence that this target will be reached thanks to the kind support from the municipalities.
Herend Szálló kindly awaited me for a good night's rest. Many thanks for this much appreciated sponsorship.

Letter of Dr. Royaards for the Smiling Knights on September 22

For some reason my internet is so slow that the website
and blog does not appear ( I am in the middle of the
country-side now). Would you please put the following
"post" on my blog?

September 22, a most difficult day.

"You can't win them all on each day".  After the glorious
feelings of yesterday, it was now the most difficult day
sofar. This is typically a region where unemployment is
high, money scarce and morale very low. And of course for
all the good (or better: bad) reasons. In spite of the
prevailing problems in the villages, the mayors of Tés,
Szápár, Csetény, Bakonynána, the deputy-mayor of
Nagyesztergár, the notary of Jásd and the deputy Notary
of Zirc will still try to do their best finding the
members on the basis of "one member for one thousand of
inhabitants".

The day has given me plenty of time to reflect about the
differences between Hungary now and Holland after the
second world war. Two important elements are crucial. In
Holland we had the Marshall help from abroad to give a
boost to investment, work and optimism. In Hungary, there
is no such great financial support from outside; the
European Union should be the motor, but the financial
impact may not be sufficient and in any case hardly
reaches the smaller towns and villages. Secondly, the
Dutch had a great confidence in the capabilities and
character of the Dutch government at the time; when
I hear mayors in general on this topic, very few
- if any - has any good opinion about the Hungarian
governments after the change in 1989. A sad story,
which must be changed to give new hope for a better life
in this otherwise beautiful country with intelligent
and kind people.

Albert Royaards