TEN children born with congenital surgically repairable heart defects will fly to India from Zanzibar today for subsidized heart surgery.
They will fly by Ethiopian Airlines to
Jaypee Heart Hospital in New Delhi, India, under the banner of Lions
Club of Dar es Salaam (Host), Regency Medical Centre and the Ministry of
Health in Zanzibar.
They will fly along with two medical
escorts from Zanzibar and their parents. According to the statement
released by Lions Club of Dar es Salaam Host, Convener of heart
surgeries Lion Dr Rajni Kanabar, patients will return after two weeks of
stay in India. Dr Kanabar said in the group nine children are from
Zanzibar and one hails from Moshi in Kilimanjaro region.
“In the group there are five infants,
the youngest being baby Glory Goodluck from Moshi who is three months
old. The infant has three major heart defects which require very
delicate heart surgery which can cost up to 15,000 US dollars in South
Africa,” he said.
“We all pray that she returns back home
with a new lease of life” he said. He said the cost of each subsidized
heart surgery would be 2,500 US dollars plus 500 dollars for upkeep up
to three weeks.
The co-convener of heart surgery project
of the Lions Club of Dar es Salaam (Host), Lion Shiraz Rashid, thanked
all donors for their kind support which made this trip possible.
“Special thanks go to the Ministry of
Health of Zanzibar which sponsored the cost of heart surgeries of nine
children and their upkeep, Lions Club of Moshi which sponsored heart
surgery and upkeep for baby Glory and escorting mother,” said Lion
Shiraz.
He also thanked other donors who donated
Airfares for the entire group like Africarries, Mohamed Enterprises,
Prem Kapoor from Mwanza Youth Welfare Trust, Mr Ramadhar Reddy, Abbas
Haji.
The President of the Lions Club of Dar
es Salaam (Host), Lion Muntansir Gullamhussein, thanked Convener and
Coconvener Lion Dr Kanabar and Lion Shiraz Rashid for their donation of
1,000 dollars each for this humanitarian mission.
He further said that his Club is
planning to send 100 children born with congenital heart defects to JK
Heart Institute in Dar es Salaam and Jaypee Hospital in India in
December this year as part of the 100 years anniversary celebrations of
Lions Club International Centennial programme.
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