ABU DHABI: An altruistic endeavor initiated by an Abu Dhabi entrepreneur on January 1st of this year has successfully facilitated life-saving surgeries for 50 children grappling with complex congenital heart ailments.
Shamsheer Vayalil, the chairperson of Burjeel Holdings, launched the Golden Heart Initiative with the noble aim of aiding children hailing from conflict-ridden regions and disadvantaged backgrounds across multiple nations.
This initiative collaborated with esteemed medical professionals to execute critical surgeries in both public and private healthcare facilities situated in Tunisia, Egypt, and India, according to Arab News.
Its primary focus was on extending assistance to children residing in conflict-affected zones like Senegal, Libya, and Tunisia, along with economically disadvantaged families from Egypt and India.
Despite encountering formidable challenges such as stringent travel restrictions, particularly in conflict zones, hindering the movement of children and their families to hospitals equipped to conduct the necessary surgeries, the initiative persevered. Collaborating closely with various agencies, it successfully secured special travel permissions indispensable for the cause.
Moreover, in countries like India, the initiative forged strong partnerships with governmental departments and agencies to offer surgeries that were financially unattainable for many families, as they fell beyond the coverage scope of existing healthcare schemes.
The beneficiaries of this initiative included children as young as 2 months old, afflicted with severe conditions such as aortic stenosis, tetralogy of Fallot, and atrioventricular canal defect, all posing significant threats to normal heart function.
Dr. Tarig Ali Elhassan, a cardiac surgeon and head of the initiative’s medical assessment board, expressed immense pride in the medical teams’ capability to deliver top-notch medical care to these children. He stated, “We feel proud to support these children in the time of their need with world-class treatment.”
Elaborating further on the initiative’s process, Dr. Elhassan mentioned, “After announcing the initiative, we received numerous requests from different parts of the world. We thoroughly reviewed each medical record and shortlisted the candidates based on the severity of their condition and the guidelines of the initiative.
Later, we brought together global experts in the field to perform the surgeries. We also made arrangements to ease transportation challenges. Everything was done within three months, which we consider a great feat.”
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
