Our Legacy

As an organization, Gift of Life's legacy is defined by the full and healthy lives of the children we've saved with the help of thousands of individuals, from donors to doctors, from host families to hospitals, from Rotarians to representatives of government. 

For each of the children you see in the following photos, there are many, many people behind every child, helping to ensure the success of that child's surgery, and helping to save a life.

Marwa

Marwa's family are from Gaza, and they were turned down in many places when trying to seek help for Marwa. The Palestinian Embassy did not know of any organization that can help in Jordan. They did not know of anything in Gaza as well. Through word of mouth they came to Dr. Khalid, who told them about GOLA.

At first, Marwa was too young for surgery. Dr. Khalid waited for her to grow older and see if her condition would improve. He observed her situation was growing worse, so once the GOLA funding was available from John, he immediately scheduled for Marwa to have surgery a few days later. Marwa obtained life-saving heart surgery last Monday, Oct. 11. She came out of the ICU on Wednesday and left the hospital on Thursday. Everything went smoothly. Marwa's family are extremely thankful to the donors for funding Marwa's heart surgery through GOLA. They continue to call and thank us over the phone.

 

Agush Beqir

Our newly formed Gift of Life Kosovo has now brought life-saving surgeries to 3 children in the past year. Attached are photos of the first child for which our Gift of Life Kosovo coordinated getting help. Beqir was operated on at The Boston Children's Hospital and was sponsored by Gift of Life New England.

The first photo is of Agush Beqir with his parents and the next one is of Mazllum (Director, Gift of Life Kosovo) and Beqir

 

Nancy

Earlier this year, Nancy became our first Gift of Life child to be sponsored by the newly formed Gift of Life Kenya. Nancy waited over 7 years from the time she was diagnosed with a Congenital Heart Defect until she was finally provided with her life-saving surgery. Thanks to the hard work and generosity of Kenyan Rotarians, the health care professionals at Mater Hospital in Nairobi, and her family Nancy has a second chance at a healthy life.

"I am personally very touched by this work, and I am encouraged to do more in the coming year, just by seeing the gratitude on her face and that of her family," said Martin Ngugi, Director, Gift of Life Kenya

Nancy has been receiving regular check ups and has gained 4 kgs since her surgery. Her father says she is like a new girl. She has even returned to school.

 

 

Lauren Hernandez-Rivera

 

 

Luis Alberto

 

 

Elder Mandoza

Although you can"t tell based on the look on Elder's face, he is doing fabulous! All the tubes out; tomorrow he will be moved to a regular room on 7th floor.

I had the most incredible technology experience tonight with Elder and Antonio. I took my laptop to the ICU room and did a Skype call to Ron Roll, our contact in Honduras. They all were able to talk and see each other and Ron called Elder's mother and she and Elder were able to talk. I couldn't understand a word they said, but I could tell mamma and son enjoyed the conversation.

Antonio got a taste of what "everybody in the world" ultimately wants to do before the die; EAT MEMPHIS BBQ.

I wasn't sure if he would like Memphis style BBQ; boy was I wrong! As you can tell, the BBQ from Corky's. In fact, to keep from having a riot, I took enough to feed 12 so all the nursing staff on duty could share the goodies. Antonio had two plates. He loved the BBQ, the beans, and the slaw.

I think Corky's has a new fan for life.

It has been a busy week for Elder and Antonio; they have been to the zoo; rode horses; and got a fixed up heart; All in the same week. He can look forward to a long healthy life when he returns to Honduras.

Elder is going to be fine and will make a full recovery.
Bill Pickens

 

Amela Zadeja

The Rotary Club of the Bronx is happy to announce that they will be hosting their sixth child for the Gift of Life. The recipient of the program's “Gift” is a 9 year old girl from Albania. Her name is Amela Zadeja. Amela arrived on April 18 with her mother, Merita. Her corrective heart surgery was performed successfully on Wednesday, April 25th by doctor Suvro Sett at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center. Amela and her mother are being hosted by an Albanian family, Mehmet & Bela Vataksi. Amela was brought to our attention by the Albanian American Women's Organization.

The Gift of Life Program began in 1975 and is today a worldwide Rotary International Service Program. Its primary purpose is to help those needy children who require corrective heart surgery to secure another lease on life through the miracle of open-heart surgery in a Gift of Life participating hospital in the U.S.A. With its great international humanitarian appeal, The Gift of Life Program has received wide attention in the media. As a result, a number of American ethnic community groups have come forward to work with the various Rotary organizations involved in their areas to raise funds and become involved with the hospitality chores. Due to their love and dedication to the Program, they have made the child and its parents and/or guardians" stay in America a truly pleasant and memorable occasion.

The Rotary Club of the Bronx began in 1918 and is a member of an international organization whose primary purpose is to provide service to the community. Since the club began, it has supported hundreds of projects and services which help make the Bronx a better place to live and work. The spirit along with individual member involvement have helped to create a caring, compassionate climate in which persons are helped when in need and young people are aided in realizing their dreams and achieving their educational goals.