Modi sponsors heart surgery trip for two children

Charity Chikara, Sunday News Reporter

THE Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Cde Raj Modi, has sponsored a trip for two children who were due for a lifesaving heart surgery in India and promised to help more to access health facilities in the Asian country.

The two children, aged five and seven, were given air tickets last Sunday after Cde Modi, the Member of Parliament for Bulawayo South constituency was approached by Brave Little Hearts Zimbabwe – a non-profit making organisation that specialises in raising awareness regarding heart disease in children in the country. 

In an interview, Cde Modi said he took it upon himself to support children who needed assistance so that they were able to access medical facilities in India. He said he was going to rope in more people and look for more donors so that travelling for medical attention for cardiac patients would not be a privilege for a chosen group of people but for everyone. 

“I managed to pay for the two children that needed to go for surgery in India. They left on Sunday the 13th of this month. So, what really motivated me is the simple fact that as a country we do not have the medical services they needed yet, so we have to make sure that in the meantime children do not succumb to this illness as a result.  I’ve been communicating with Indian hospitals as well, attempting to secure free operations for these kids so that we can treat more of them for these life-saving procedures. 

“It is our responsibility to make sure that children enjoy their life fully because they are the future. I can’t guarantee that I’ll transport everyone else who ask for this service, but I’m looking for donors to help. I’m also considering recruiting additional people to preach this gospel to spread awareness and maybe attract more donations,” he said.

However, the bulk of the funds for the operation were provided by the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and Ms Tendai Moyo, the founder and director of Brave Little Hearts Zimbabwe, thanked the ministry and Cde Modi for the support.

“Deputy Minister Modi is one of the people we approached during last year’s Liquor Hub Race and he pledged to assist with flight tickets for children and he has started by these two little ones. The two got a bigger chunk of money for the procedure in India from the Department of Social Welfare as part of the ministry’s effort in assisting children with cardiac diseases who are inoperable in the country,” she said. 

She said figures reveal that every 15 minutes a child is born with a heart disease, translating to about 4 550 children each year in Zimbabwe and 50 percent of them die from lack of intervention. Ms Moyo pleaded with the public to offer a helping hand to children who were in dire need of financial assistance as many were dying without getting the much-needed surgeries.

“Childhood heart disease is real. Countless generations of children are being lost to this disease. They just need access to anti-heart failure medication, early diagnosis and access to treatment. Help us to help them. We need partners for anti-heart failure medications, also for their basic care such as nutrition and toiletries. 

“We are appealing for those who can sponsor lifesaving heart surgery for the critical ones overseas, those who can sponsor lab tests, and those who can partner us build our Community Cardiac Rehabilitation Centre for our communities to get in touch with us,” said Ms Moyo.