St. Theodora for Challenged Kids Inc.

EQUIPMENT FOR HANDYCAPPED CHILDREN, CLOTHING, SCHOOL SUPPLIES,IMPROVE THE LIFESTYLE OF THESE KIDS TO BE PART OF THE COMMUNITY.

Every member of the Theodora Mission team is united in building a world in which society does not gi

Goal One: Updating our physical & occupational therapy program by providing training for our professional staff, culminating in improved mobility outcomes for our children based on the latest science.

Goal Two: Providing avenues for our children's mental & emotional development so they may become productive members of society. For example, making & selling crafts works and assisting in packaging goods.

Goal Three: In addition to our core work caring for our current roster of children, we are raising awareness of the broader issue so that all Egyptians may contribute to a brighter future for these children.

The Covid-19 pandemic posed unique challenges for Theodora Mission. Our children's health and safety is always our first priority. We instituted a number of practices to protect them from the coronavirus. In order to limit the number of people physically in each other's presence at any given time and also to transfer as many operations and activities as possible to a virtual format, we provided free training to our staff in the use of video conferencing software. We also offered parents and family members of the disabled children the opportunity to learn how to use such programs. For our staff, we believe this training served more of a purpose than simply video conferencing competency. All our staff developed and practiced their interpersonal communication skills, which are even more important when facing a virtual barrier. The training was such that program directors were trained first, then they trained the next most senior batch of staff, and so on. Many were able to lead a session.

Even in the best of times, our work at Theodora Mission is challenging. We have no support network in Egypt, no peer organizations, and the government does not prioritize the needs of civil society or working with nonprofit organizations. When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, we faced a whole new set of challenges on top of the old ones. As mentioned earlier, we provided free video conferencing training for all staff and children’s families to maximize social distancing. However, much of our work cannot be performed virtually, leading to agonizing choices for program & budget cuts in 2020. But 2021 saw us slowly return to a sense of normalcy. By the end of 2021, we could confidently say that Theodora Mission had emerged from the trials of the pandemic stronger than ever, with our fundraising, the fabric of our community ties in Egypt and in the US, and our full suite of services for the children, all restored to their former state and even improved greatly.