Erik Nilsson was born on May 15, 1929, in a shoemaker's cottage in the Småland village of Ruda outside Kalmar. He was the first child of his father Ernfrid and mother Eva.

Mom Eva notices that Erik keeps getting big bruises on his body. The doctors say that two-year-old Erik has hemophilia, a bleeding disorder. The picture shows Erik Nilsson sitting on his grandpa Otto Johansson's lap.

Erik tells his pen pal, C. Albin Larsson, who is many years older, that he sends 10-20 letters a week with newspapers to sick children.

In 1945, at the age of 16, Erik receives a disability pension. Some of the money is used for postage and stationery.

Erik Nilsson was only 17 years old when the charity work began. Through the radio program Barnens Brevlåda (Children's Mailbox), he obtains contact information for other children and becomes good friends with the program host Sven Jerring. Erik begins to be called Uncle Erik after Sven Jerring mistakenly assumes that Erik is an older gentleman.

Sven Jerring's 20-minute interview with Erik is broadcast on New Year's Day, and the modest letter-writing mission becomes known throughout Sweden. Jerring himself collects money from friends. He encourages Erik to think more broadly and not just send religious reading material to sick children.

The magazine De sjukas vän (The Sick Person's Friend) is published for the first time by Uncle Erik's aid organization, which later became Erikshjälpen. The magazine was a way for Erik to tell everyone who donated money and gifts what happened to their contributions.

In the mid-1950s, Erik meets his future wife Ulla, and they marry in 1958.

In 1962, the organization went international, with aid work in Pakistan, the former Yugoslavia, and Brazil.

Erik Nilsson dies during Easter weekend 1966, aged only 37. He suffers a stroke as a result of hemophilia, and after a few days in hospital, his body can no longer cope. John Hall succeeds him as director. Close to one million Swedish kronor (SEK) raised during the year.

The foundation is established and named Erikshjälpen, the fundraising foundation for Uncle Erik's children and
aid activities.

Collaboration with Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) begins.

Our first second-hand stores open in Vetlanda and Mölndal. The store business starts as a non-profit association to raise money for the social and humanitarian efforts of the Erikshjälpen Foundation. In the same year, Skandinaviska Läkarbanken (Scandinavian Doctor Bank) is also formed, which has close ties to Erikshjälpen.

Human Bridge took on its current form after the organization gained momentum in 1999. Human Bridge was founded by Läkarmissionen and Erikshjälpen.

During the 2010s, Erikshjälpen began to profile itself as a child rights organisation, both in Sweden and internationally.

Erikshjälpen launches its first Erikshjälpen Framtidsverkstad(Future Workshop) in Helsingborg. The concept involves using Erikshjälpen Second Hand's local stores as a base for social work in nearby residential areas.

Ulla Nilsson passes away at the age of 91, after a lifetime devoted to love.