Rotary facilitates paediatric heart surgeries

Sixty-six little children hailing from underprivileged families were surgically treated for congenital heart diseases at the Satya Sai Sanjeevani Hospital in Palwal, Haryana, thanks to the dedicated efforts of RC Gurgaon Harmony Iberis, RID 3011. The surgeries costing ₹1.65 crore were sponsored through a global grant support from RC Fort Wayne, RID 6540, USA. The children came from various states across the country. Club president Mukta Malhotra, past president Abdul Aziz Seyid and club member Vivek Gour together contributed ₹29.6 lakh towards the project.

In sponsoring the ­surgeries, Rotary has not only saved the lives of these children but it has also given life to their families, said Mukta at a ­simple event organised by the club at the hospital to cheer the children and their families. Gift of Life certificates, along with some toys, were given to the children in the presence of DG Sanjeev Rai Mehra, PDG Vinay Bhatia and district secretary Mohit Anand Bhatia. The members of the partnering club, along with DG John Frische from the US, joined in the celebration through a virtual platform.

The club provided a heart and lung machine to the hospital. “We have been supporting the hospital in building its operation theatre and an ICU through GGs. We hope to have such larger and deeper associations as over 15,000 children are registered and awaiting treatment and many will not live long if left untreated,” said Mukta.