Jacaranda FM and its Good Morning Angels initiative remains passionate about changing the lives of as many people around the country. Five-year-old Wanga is one of the estimated 11,000 children born with a heart defect in South Africa every year. She was diagnosed with a PDA, a hole in the heart a birth, which is a defect that can be mended through early detection and surgery.
The procedure Wanga needs involves a small cut in the groin to insert a small device that will close the hole. It’s a relatively simple surgery that will allow her to go home the next day. However, like most of the children born with congenital heart disease, Wanga’s parents, Rendani and Takalani cannot afford private health care and they have to rely on the over-burdened state health care system, to wait her turn. However, time is of the essence and without this simple but costly surgery, Wanga’s condition and health will worsen.
To help children like Wanga, a group of angels in the private medical field have come together to assist children during Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Week this week with the surgery they need to live a healthy, normal life. Operation Healing Hands is co-ordinating the effort with surgeon Prof Lindy Mitchell and medical personnel offering their services for free. Zuid-Afrikaans Hospital is sponsoring theatre time and hospital facilities while medical company Vertice is sponsoring the closure devices.
Despite all of the generosity, the surgery still costs R30 000 per child to cover the costs of consumables used during the procedures.
When Operation Healing Hands reached out to Jacaranda FM’s Good Morning Angels for assistance, it was a no-brainer for them to come on board and assist in saving the lives of Wanga and four other children needing the surgery.
Sumarie Greybe, co-founder of Naked Insurance, jumped at the opportunity to help and pledged R100 000 towards the Paediatric Heart Surgeries as part of the Naked Difference initiative. Jacaranda FM has announced that the remainder of the R50 000 needed to cover the five surgeries will be donated from The Good Morning Angels Fund to make the first five surgeries possible next week.
“This highlights once again, the willpower of surgeons, people that probably don’t need to spread the love any further and are busy enough as it is, but who take it upon themselves to spread the kindness,” Martin Bester says. “I think it is amazing what Prof Lindy Mitchell is doing and it shows the power and the will of corporate South Africa to get involved and assist an amazing cause like this that helps children. I thought this morning was a beautiful example of how Good Morning Angels comes together. It’s kindness, compassion, and just the will to go above and beyond.”
Listen to Good Morning Angels every Wednesday morning on Jacaranda FM’s Breakfast With Martin Bester.
