Introduction of a Dutch retired lawyer and banker and now working for charities in Hungary.

My name is Albert Royaards, born in the Netherlands in 1943. My early formative years were in Holland. Lawyer by training (university of Utrecht, the Netherlands) and banker by profession (Chase Manhattan Bank in Frankfurt, New York and Jakarta). PhD from University of Twente, Holland with title: „Future Business Partners for Banks and Borrowers in South East Asia”.
I lived in Singapore for nearly 20 years where I had my own company: Financial Advisors for Banks and Borrowers. A very successful organization with small branches all over South East Asia until I lost it all in a most unfortunate, but also most honorable way.
Six children (born in France, USA and Singapore) and 12 grandchildren. Time spending with my children was a most wonderful training for the last working chapter in my life: charities.
In 1996 I left for Hungary to become fully involved with charities. In 2004, I started the Smiling Hospital Foundation with the aim of lifting up the soul of children in hospitals through all types of entertainment, such as music, magic, puppeteering, etc. We have a core of professional artists and nearly 300 volunteers. Our artists and volunteers visit 23 hospitals on a regular basis and create smiles on the faces of children, their parents and medical staff (visiting about 1.000 children and parents every month). We started in nine other countries from which Japan already has a larger organization than we have in Hungary.
My objective is to write regular stories about our charity activities and the many positive results. In a time when we are forced to read negative stories all over the world, it may be useful and hopefully inspiring to read from time to time positive contents as well.