Children from Malawi return with Gift of Life

Three of the four children, who had successfully underwent heart surgery for congenital heart disorder under the Rotary Club Chandigarh's Heartline Project, flew back to their home yesterday. 

Rtn. Hassan Mejie and PP Kewal Seth gave them a warm send off with a quick sight-seeing of the city and lunch at Rtn. Baldev Aggarwal's restaurant Sip'n'Dine yesterday. 

Earlier on 8th September, having known about the visit of Malawi children for heart surgery, the First Secretary from Malawi High Commission in India reached Fortis Hospital to meet with the three children and their parents. She expressed deep gratitude to Rotary for saving the lives of these children. 

Patience Nkomo (6), Hastings Maloya (6) and Prisca Patrick (14) were very happy having had the precious Gift of Life, but were sad at the time of leaving our  beautiful country. 

Our special thanks to Dr. T.S. Mahant, Director Cardiology, Fortis Hospital Mohali, who conducted the surgeries. And of course, our very own Ann Babbi Harbhajan Singh, who took care of the entire family right from their arrival till they returned back to their homes. . 

Children from Malawi for Heart Surgery

TV News Coverage by Day&Night TV


And how this project came about? Learn from IDPG Madhukar Malhotra in another tv channel story

Four children from Malawi arrive for heart surgery

Four children out of 20 from Malawi, Africa, to be operated free of cost for congenital heart disease under the Rotary Club of Chandigarh’s Heartline project, arrived here in the city.

The offer to provide free heart surgeries for  twenty children from Malawi was made in April this year, when a team of voluntary doctors from the region led by former world president of Rotary International Rajendra K. Saboo and the then district governor Madhukar Malhotra had gone to Malawi and Zambia on a medical mission and treated patients there.

The four children who arrived from Malawi along with their  guardians included a two years old boy Brain Milanzi, suffering from atral septal defect (ASD), two six years old boys Hasting Maloya, and Patience Nkhoma, both suffering from ventral septal defect (VSD), and a 14 years old girl Prisca Patrick with Patent Ductus Arterisum diagnosis.

Rajendra K Saboo informed that all these children would be operated at one of the partner hospitals of Rotary Heartline project, Fortis Hospital Mohali, and are being admitted in the evening there.

He further stated that 10 doctors from Malawi would be sent by the Government of Malawi’s health department, for advanced short term training  in India which will be facilitated by Rotary.

Rajendra K. Saboo  who had been instrumental in starting the project of Rotary Heartline, earlier known as Gift of Life, under which Rotary Club of Chandigarh had been providing free heart surgeries to children suffering from congenital cardiac diseases since 1999.

So far 365 lives of children have been saved, he informed briefing the media here today,  and whenever there is a deserving case in and around Chandigarh, Rotary has always taken up such cases. The idea of taking up cases from other countries is to also serve beyond borders and live the eternal saying "Vasudevya Kutumbhkam" i.e. World is one family. Thus in the total surgeries done so far,there have been  2 children from Afghanistan, 6 from Nepal, 24 from Pakistan and 12 from Uganda over the years. 

   

Media reports Hepatitis Awareness Rally

Print and electronic media widely covered the Rotary Club of Chandigarh and Rotaract Club's hepatitis awareness rally.

Hepatitis Awareness Rally

Rotary Club of Chandigarh organized today the hepatitis awareness rally at Sukhna Lake, as a precursor to the WHO’s officially supported World Hepatitis Day which falls on 28^th July 2011.

Dr. Yogesh Chawla, Head, Hepatology Department, PGI flagged off the march with Rotarians, Rotaractors and their family members, distributing literature amongst the large number of people who gather at the lake on Sundays.

Hepatitis kills more than one million people every year and as per WHO report, approximately 500 million people worldwide are infected by hepatitis B or C1 necessitating awareness of the people, said Rotary Club Chandigarh’s President Neena Singh.

It is believed that one in 12 people worldwide are infected with these virus and majority of those infected by it do not know about it.

Rotary Club is also organizing a one day free screening camp at Rotary House, 107A, Sector 18A, from 10am to 5pm on Monday, Neena Singh informed.