Just to let you know that the Hearts4Kids website has been updated with the 2023 Mission Report, which we hope will be of interest to you - www.hearts4kids.org.nz.
Thank you SO much for your donation - 13 babies and children now have an opportunity to lead active and fulfilling lives.
The Hearts4Kids team operated on 13 children (over 5 operating days), all left hospital by March 5th and are currently doing well. Mission Report being written so more information to follow later . . .
Dear Friends and Supporters of Hearts4Kids,
After more than two years of being locked down we are finally planning our next visit to Fiji. In April 2022 a new facility was opened in Suva and is ready for use by visiting surgical teams. Our visits are now being coordinated so that Suva has regular teams travelling in to operate not only from New Zealand but also India, USA and Singapore. In future we hope that this collaboration will create a regular cardiac service not only to the children of Fiji but also those from other Pacific Islands.
Our visit dates have just been set for 22nd February through to 7th March 2023 and planning is underway to finalise the team members who can come, make lists of the supplies and equipment required, and start raising the necessary funds to meet our projected budget of $90,000. We are the most experienced of the four teams who will visit, so we have been asked by the local paediatricians to operate on some of the more complex cases, including babies with heart conditions which make them blue and children with damage from rheumatic fever who need valve repairs. In the past few years it has been difficult for Fijian children to get access to care so we are expecting there will be many with untreated heart lesions. Dr John Wright will go over in advance to liaise with the local doctors and to identify those children who will be helped by surgery.
It is very exciting to be back actually planning a trip after the long years in isolation but there will be challenges getting it organised in such a short timespan so we will have to work fast. Fundraising is a big component of this task, so if you have supported us in the past we are letting you know of this forthcoming mission, and also that we have now just reached $10,000 in recent donations. Thank you so much, we couldn't do this without your support!
With thanks, Kirsten Finucane
