MOH Secretary and RCCW President signing the agreement in the presence of Rotary District Governor and MOH Officials

• Rotary Club of Colombo West expands ‘Save a Little Heart’ Project 

Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services and Rotary Club of Colombo West entered into a Letter of Intent for the purpose of carrying out cardiac surgeries for 75 selected children suffering from critical cardiac diseases at AMRITA Institute of Medical Science and Research Centre in Cochin, India and to train and develop capacity building for paediatric cardiac care in Sri Lanka for Nurses and Doctors of Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) at a total cost of $ 190,000, to be funded by Rotary.

The children will be selected by a team from LRH and Rotary officials will function as observers. LRH will be also selecting the Doctors and Nurses for the training program and follow up on operated Children after completing paediatric cardiac surgeries, upon their return to Sri Lanka.

The Rotary International and Rotary International District 3201, India supported the raising of funds for this initiative. 

Congenital Heart Defects (CHD) are the most common birth defect and the leading cause of death during the first year of a child’s life. It is estimated that in Sri Lanka, for every 1,000 new-borns, there are six to eight born with CHD. 

A total of 329,000 live births occurred in Sri Lanka last year, out of which 2,000-2,700 children were born with CHD. Two-thirds of them, about 1,300-1,800, will need surgery or intervention for their heart lesions to be corrected, and with proper treatment, 85-90% of them will reach adulthood.

The Rotary Club of Colombo West is committed towards assisting underprivileged children with congenital heart defects undergo lifesaving treatment. The Club will be able to give hope for children with CHD by enabling them to undergo heart surgery before they reach adulthood.  

Rotary, which commenced in 1905, is a worldwide organisation with current membership exceeding 1.25 million in over 200 countries. Its motto is ‘Service above self’, and in Sri Lanka, it has more than 1,400 Rotarians in 70 Rotary Clubs. The Rotary Club of Colombo West, one of the largest clubs in Sri Lanka with 90 members, is actively involved in community service projects across the country.