Theodora Mission was born from one family's tenderness for their own little girl — and the holy ache of knowing that thousands of children just like her, across Egypt, were being carried by mothers no one was helping to carry.
Her name is Theodora — “gift of God.” She was born with cerebral palsy, a daughter loved beyond measure by her father, co-founder Karam Awad. In America, Theodora had what every child deserves: doctors who knew her name, therapy shaped to her body, and a family who could fight for her.
But Mr. Awad could not stop thinking of the other Theodoras — the little girls and boys in Egypt with the same diagnosis, the same bright eyes, and almost none of the same chances. Mothers carrying their children up flights of stairs because no one would come to help. Families told quietly, again and again, that there was nothing to be done. He could not make peace with the gap. So with a small circle of co-founders, he set out to close it — one child, one center, one prayer at a time.
The mission began with a single small center in El Tahona — a few borrowed rooms, a handful of volunteers, and a van that went door to door fetching children no school bus would carry. Today, hand-in-hand with Coptic Orthodox church leaders, we provide physical and occupational therapy, medical care, parental education, transportation, home visits, and the joyful feasts of the Church to more than 450 children across 11 centers in Egypt — served by 110 staff members who treat each child as if she were their own.
Our overarching prayer has not changed since that first room in El Tahona: to empower these children and their families, to equip them with the skills and dignity to thrive, and to replace the quiet sorrow of being forgotten with the loud, stubborn joy of being known. None of it happens without you. Every gift you give becomes therapy, transport, medicine, a warm meal, a held hand — and one more child who learns, sometimes for the first time, that she is seen.
From Holy Scripture
“Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”
Matthew 25:40
The journey
The spark
Co-founder Karam Awad's daughter, Theodora, was born with cerebral palsy. Surrounded in America by doctors, therapists, and care tailored to her every need, her family was given a gift — and with it, a holy restlessness for the children in Egypt who had none of the same.
El Tahona
With the blessing of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the mission opened its first small center in El Tahona — a few borrowed rooms, a handful of volunteers, and a van that fetched children no school bus would carry. No funding plan. Only faith, and families who came on foot.
Today
From that single room in El Tahona, the Lord has multiplied the loaves. More than 450 children. 110 staff. 11 centers across Egypt — every one of them still carrying the same prayer that began it all: that no child be forgotten.
A blessing from the Fathers
Walk with us
Sponsor a child, fund a center, or simply pray with us by name. Every gift becomes therapy, transport, medicine, and a Coptic family that holds each child up before the Lord.
