An 11-year-old girl who was diagnosed with a congenital heart disease was given a new chance to live when the Rotary Club of New Amsterdam provided assistance for her to travel to Canada to undergo corrective surgery.
The club has partnered with the Rotary Club in Pickering, Ontario, Canada to assist the child, Vidyawattie Inderjeet of Crabwood Creek.
The child left for Canada along with her mother after the club assisted them to procure the relevant Canadian visas. They are expected to spend six to eight weeks there and are being hosted at the home of Rotarian Gonzales.
Public Relations Officer of the NA Rotary Club, David Armogan said the diagnosis was made by Dr N D Sukhnanan during a regular medical outreach in the area conducted by the Rotary Club.
He said the child was sent to Georgetown for further tests and expert medical advice after which it was determined that she needed to undergo surgery overseas.
The club then made contact with a sister club in Canada for assistance and a volunteering Canadian hospital for sick children agreed to perform the surgery free of cost. The hospital assists children from third world countries where the facilities are not available.
Armogan said Vidyawattie’s parents who are struggling with life could not afford the travel expenses.
According to him the air ticket to Canada for the child was sponsored by Pandit Suresh Sugrim of the New Jersey Arya Samaj Humanitarian Mission. The mother’s ticket was paid for by the NA Rotary Club with donations from Bhoj Seecharran, Karran Ragoo, Krishndat Persaud, JP Ghamandi and L. Harriprashad Sawmill.
Meanwhile the club recently completed its wheel chair distribution exercise in which 42 wheelchairs were presented to sick persons and amputees.
The club also donated a quantity of dictionaries to Cumberland and All Saints Primary Schools for World Literacy Day. The exercise was expected to continue and extended to other schools in the Berbice area.
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