Seven children from Rwanda returned to their home with new lease of life thanks to you, the Rotarian friends in our Rotary Club of Chandigarh, who have always been like angels standing by them to take care of them.
This was the last of the promised 30 surgeries that Past Rotary International President Rajendra K. Saboo had made to the Government of Rwanda on one of his earlier intercontinental medicare missions to the country.
District Governor of Rotary District 9150 from Rwanda Jean Runuya, Past RI President Rajendra K. Saboo and Usha Saboo, alongwith other members of the Club gave a touching farewell to these seven children at the Rotary House here today.
Jean Runuya profusely expressed his country’s gratitude to the Rotary Club of Chandigarh and team of doctors under Dr. T.S. Mahant, for saving the lives of these children. It is heartening to see how parents handover their little children to the Rotarians with great hope and expectation, to travel to distant land and await their safe return.
Prof. Paramjit Singh, President of the Club informed that one boy and six girls aged between 11 and 16t years, accompanied with Dr. Rutare Samuel and male nurse Heshima Christophe, reached the city on 30th January this year, suffering from various congenital cardiac disorders, and were operated at the Fortis Hospital Mohali.
Dr. T.S. Mahant, Executive Director, CTVS, Fortis Hospital Mohali. who led the team of surgeons, said that the children suffered from serious condition called rheumatic heart disease which often requires repair or replacement of heart valves. Such children can’t play, walk or do normal activities due to breathlessness, chest pain, heart palpitations, etc. The valve-replacement surgeries were long and complicated yet successful and we are happy that these children would be able to lead happy and healthy lives.
Heartline Project chairs Sukhjit Singh Gill and Mona Khattar added that children have recovered well and Rotaractors of the club had also taken to the city for an outing last week and entertained them.
Rajendra K. Saboo informed that the Club had been able to save 546 lives of the children, which included several children from abroad, since India is at a stage when it can give back to the world its knowledge and expertise.
All this had been made possible from the donations by individuals and organizations to support the cost of the surgery which is shared by the Club’s partner hospitals, PGIMER and the Fortis Hospital Mohali.
Out of the 546 children saved under the project, there had been 30 children from Rwanda, 15 each from Malawi and Nepal, 34 from Pakistan, 7 from Uganda, 5 from Nigeria, two from Afghanistan, and one from Iraq.
