10 child patients fly to India from Zanzibar

29Feb 2016
Correspondent
News
The Guardian
10 child patients fly to India from Zanzibar

AT least 10 child patients born with congenital surgically repairable heart defects will fly today (Monday) to India from Zanzibar for subsidized heart surgery.

Dr Rajni Kanabar

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 Ministry of Health Zanzibar.

Two medical officers will escort them from Zanzibar along with their parents.A statement released yesterday by Lions Club of Dar es Salaam Host, Convener of Heart Surgeries, Lion Dr Rajni Kanabar, the heart suffering children will return home after two weeks of treatment in India.

Dr Kanabar said of the ten children in the group nine children are from Zanzibar and one from Moshi in Kilimanjaro.

“In the group there are five infants, the youngest being Glory Goodluck from Moshi, who is three month old, with three major heart defects which requires very meticulous heart surgery o carry out.

Such operation can cost up to USD15,000 in South Africa,” he said."We all pray that she returns back home with New Lease of Life" he said

He said the cost of each subsidised heart surgery would be USD2,500 plus USD500 for the upkeep up to three weeks.The co-convener of heart surgery project for Lions Club of Dar es Salaam (Host), Lion Shiraz Rashid, thanking all donors for their kind support which made this trip possible said:.

‘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.”

He also thanked other donors, like Africarriers, Mohamed Enterprises, Prem Kapoor from Mwanza, Youth Welfare Trust, Ramadhar Reddy and Abbas Haji, who donated Airfares for the entire group.

The president of the Lions Club of Dar es Salaam (Host), Lion Muntansir Gullamhussein thanked convener and co-convener Lion Dr Kanabar and Lion Shiraz Rashid respectively for their donation of USD1, 000 each for this humanitarian mission.

He further said that his club plans to send 100 heart children born with congenital heart defects to JK Heart Institute in Dar es Salaam and Jaypee Hospital, India in December this year as part of celebrating 100 years of Lions Club International Centennial programme.

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