In the wake of Democratic Republic of the Congo President Felix Tshisekedi’s visit to Jerusalem last week, businessman Haim Taib, chairman of the Mitrelli Group, as a gesture to the Congolese president, has decided to bring a group of children from the Congo suffering from heart disease to Wolfson Medical Center in Holon in the coming weeks.
The initiative is part of humanitarian efforts by Taib, head of Save a Child’s Heart Africa, along with its executive director, Simon Fisher.
The nonprofit Save a Child’s Heart has been working for 25 years to save the lives of children with heart diseases from countries where access to pediatric cardiology does not exist or is limited.
Recently, the organization has saved children from several African countries, including Zambia, Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia.
Since its inception, it has saved some 6,000 children from 62 countries worldwide and brought more than 140 medical staff to Israel to undergo training and receive the tools needed to care for children independently and establish centers of excellence in their countries of origin.
Save a Child’s Heart is the first Israeli organization to receive the United Nations Population Award in recognition of its humanitarian activities on behalf of children with heart disease from around the world.
Taib noted: “The visit of the group of children to Israel will create a profound humanitarian foundation of trust and cooperation between the countries.
“For many years we have been involved in saving the lives of young children, from birth to adulthood, to give them a new opportunity for a healthy life.
“The group will arrive in Israel and stay at the organization’s children’s home in Holon, in preparation for the medical procedures they will undergo at the hospital.”