Music for Heart

One of the many incredible projects that Rotarians make possible is the provision of life-saving open-heart surgery for children with congenital heart defects. Like its famous polio campaign which practically eradicated polio worldwide (Polio Plus has recently been launched to tackle the disease in the few countries where it has lingered and recently resurged, such as Nigeria), Rotary is helping provide surgeries worldwide. I originally learned about this effort from Lynda Hammond, a member of my sponsor club (Hi Lynda!), who sits on the board of Gift for Life International and who is a passionate advocate for children’s health across the world. In El Salvador, I was able to witness this effort on the ground.

As I learned from the heartfelt presentations made by Brenda Small, President of Music for the Heart Foundation, and Rob Raylman, Executive Director of Gift of Life International (both Rotarians), the statistics of this problem are daunting: in El Salvador alone more than 1,200 children are currently on the waiting list for surgery. To be honest, I had no idea that so many children suffered from life-threatening congenital heart defects. What I could have told you is that most developing countries are not equipped to handle serious health issues; to no one's surprise, open heart surgeries are no exception. Thus, Gift of Life and Music for Heart were in El Salvador all this week. They saved 57 young lives.

Historically, Gift of Life’s approach was to execute the surgeries with their own international staff, but they now have a push to train local health professionals and build local capacity so that countries can provide the surgeries themselves. Gift for Life is currently amidst a campaign to train up health professionals in Uganda (and as Brenda stated in her remarks, nurses are especially crucial), and now Brenda and Music for Heart are going to be focusing their time on building capacity in El Salvador. Currently, the country is not equipped to perform any such surgeries without outside assistance, lacking qualified professionals and equipment.

Rotary International Foundation’s role has been to generously finance most of the operations of Music for Heart Foundation, Gift of Life International, and other partner organizations, while the local clubs – in this case my host club, the Cuscatlán Club of San Salvador – contribute their own resources and handle many of the logistics on the ground. Rotary is also looking at ways to assist the children and their families after they have had surgery, as some unfortunately return to impoverished conditions once their procedures are complete.

Last night the Cuscatlán Club had a special club meeting where we heard from Brenda and Rob, met visiting Rotary volunteers from the States, and had a special visitor named Jordan. Jordan has been in need of heart surgery since birth, and he has been on the waiting list now for four years. Thanks to special fundraising done by Brenda’s daughter’s Irish dancing squad, Jordan’s family will be able to afford the surgery. The girls also sent along their championship trophy from a recent competition as a gift to Jordan. He was accompanied by his parents and two brothers.

Jordan receives a trophy and a special message from Brenda

Jordan receives a trophy and a special message from Brenda

Club Member Victor receives the prestigious Paul Harris Fellow Award for his work on the Music for Heart campaign

Newly elected District Governor Mario Andino addresses the club

Brenda and Rob pose with Victor and other club members who helped lead the effort

Today, I was able to catch the end of the week-long campaign and visit some of the recipients of life-saving surgeries at San Salvador's Bloom Hospital. Rotarian Guillermo and I were escorted around the hospital by an incredibly helpful young woman, Gloria, who works with a local organization that coordinates the medical logistics of the operation. I was able to meet four girls, aged between a few months and 15 years old, who were being released from the hospital after successful surgeries. One young girl of about seven years, Jennifer, showed me the bandages on her chest that were covering up the sutures from her surgery. It was incredibly moving to visit with these healthy, vibrant girls who until just a few days were lethargic, sick, and incredibly vulnerable.