Press Releases

Budapest, January 5, 2011 11:00

Those who call or send SMS messages to the 1788 Telekom Donation Line number in January and February 2011 support the Hungarian Clown Doctors' Foundation for Healing.

The Hungarian Clown Doctors for Healing Foundation launched its gap filling program ten years ago, which was the first of its kind in Hungary. The work of clown doctors really fills a gap in hospitals. They add laughter and some glee to the work of doctors and nurses in promoting through their visits the healing of physically or mentally retarded children or children who suffer from chronic diseases. Clown doctors try to make children's hospital stay less stressful and easier to bear, diverting their attention from their illness and their being in hospital.
For the time being they serve on four locations: the Heim Pál Hospital, the Children's Clinic No. 2 of SOTE (Medical University of Budapest) in Tűzoltó utca, the St. George Hospital in Székesfehérvár and the Line of Hope Habilitation Institute. By visiting once in a week from bed to bed, they deliver glee for children.

Applying smile therapy and various methods of mental care coupled with techniques used by clowns and acrobats they place laughter into the service of healing. Helped with the power of laughter, humor and wit those who are ill may become enabled to unfold their self-healing power. Laughter dispels worry, brings optimism and comfort, while it strengthens the immune system.

Smile therapy is primarily applied to hospitalized children from 2-3 months to 17-18 years' old and especially those suffering from some chronic illness. Six clown doctors visit over ten thousand children in the four institutions in a year. They organize training in order to improve their methods, to which they invite psychiatrists, psychologists and movement therapy experts.

The Foundation also cooperates with SOTE�s Institute of Behavioral Science. First and second year medical students majoring in medical communication frequent the visits of medical doctors and use their experiences obtained in such visits in writing their thesis.

In December last clown doctors joined hands with a former beneficiary of the Donation Line, The Special Medical and First Aid Team of the University of Debrecen (DEKOM) to "consult" children in state care in Szabolcs-Szatmár County.
The Foundation is financed by donations from individuals and companies, as well as grants won through application.

You can read more about the Foundation and its activities at www.bohocdokik.hu.

As a leading ITC provider, Magyar Telekom deems it important to support the improvement of healthcare in Hungary and the development of the services in this area, including pediatric emergency care. Telekom's Donation Line, also known as "1788 - the human call", has been accessible for calls initiated from Magyar Telekom's fixed line and mobile networks for the past eight years. The fee for a call or an SMS message is HUF 100, which is free of VAT (with the exceptions of calls initiated with Domino top-up cards). The total amount raised as a result of the calls initiated during January and February, 2011 will be granted, as the callers' donation, to the Hungarian Clown Doctors' Foundation for Healing. The foundation will use the amount towards further expanding their program and increasing the number of hospital visits.