This project will provide free, life-saving heart surgery to 50 children in Kenya with congenital heart defects. These children need just one surgery to save their lives and correct their heart defects forever, but access is limited, and costs are prohibitive for their families.
One million children are born each year around the world with congenital heart defects. Only 10% of them have access to specialized medical care, and even if surgery is available, it is financially out of reach. Left untreated, congenital heart defects are debilitating and catastrophic. Without surgery, these children will live a life of chronic illness, failure to thrive, and will ultimately succumb to their disease.
HeartGift fills the gap in access to care by ensuring that these children receive the life-saving heart surgery they need at no cost to their families. In 2024, HeartGift and its partners will send two medical mission teams to Kenya to repair the hearts of 50 children with congenital heart defects. With just one surgery, their hearts will be completely repaired, and almost immediately, the children will begin to feel better, eat and gain weight, act and behave like healthy children, and thrive.
Our impact is measured by lives saved! Every successful surgery provides a child with an opportunity to live-and really live-without chronic illness, medical appointments, and fear. Left untreated, these children, their families, and entire communities suffer. With HeartGift's help, they find hope and new opportunities! Parents can go to work, children can attend school, and entire families are transformed!
