Name: Israeli charity helps provide vital medical care for Africans
Uploaded: 2025-12-03T08:27:13.086Z
Duration: 4 min 30 s
Description: Save a Child’s Heart, operating out of the International Pediatric Cardiac Center and Sylvan Adams Children’s Hospital at Wolfson Medical Center, has performed its 8,000th life-saving heart surgery for a child from Africa. Correspondent and host Emily Francis has the story

Save a Child’s Heart, operating out of the International Pediatric Cardiac Center and Sylvan Adams Children’s Hospital at Wolfson Medical Center, has performed its 8,000th life-saving heart surgery for a child from Africa. Correspondent and host Emily Francis has the story

Jerusalem

Save a Child's Heart, based in Israel, has provided life-saving cardiac surgeries to over 8,000 children from more than 75 countries, including many from Africa. The organization operates at Wolfson Medical Center and the Sylvan Adams Children's Hospital, offering advanced surgical care and training for African doctors such as Dr. Fitsum Argao Abede from Ethiopia.

The charity also supports families during their stay in Israel, fostering a multicultural environment at the Legacy Heritage Children's Home. Israeli-led missions have helped establish independent pediatric cardiac care in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zambia, and Rwanda, with local doctors now saving lives using skills gained in Israel.

Israeli charity helps provide vital medical care for Africans

It's a home away from home for this brave group of youngsters from several different African nations. Children like four-year-old Victory from Nigeria have reason to dance after life-saving heart surgery by the medical team at Save a Child's Heart. And I believe, one thing I believe about the doctors in Israel, I think it's as if they used to hear from God to know the right way. Victory is the 8,000th child from over 75 countries and over the course of 30 years to undergo cardiac surgery at Wolfson Medical Center. The exciting thing is us, as Israelis, based on values that we have entrenched with us, Jewish values of tikkun olam. It's not only about taking care of ourselves, but it's also reaching out and helping our neighbors. I'm a Christian, and this is a Bible, as you say, and I read the word of God every day. Give me strength and comfort. Three-year-old Manu was diagnosed with a heart defect at three months old in his native Rwanda. He and his mom, Sarah, were brought to Israel, where Manu and mom are continuing to get the best care. Thank you, God. It's like some pieces of fossils coming together and just like, OK, it does make sense why I came here. Thank you is an understatement, being grateful for what they have done for us. What's more, the seven-floor International Pediatric Cardiac Center at Sylvan Adams Children's Hospital have the most state-of-the-art infrastructure to not only perform surgeries, but also to train African doctors, like Dr. Fitsum Argao Abede of Ethiopia. I'm so proud of him now. You know, he did the whole operation all by himself, complicated one. I didn't have to do anything but to watch outside. Knowing that he's going back home and the kids would be in very good hands. This place has become home and I learned the language. I have, you know, everyone is supposed to be a colleague, but ended up being a family. Now after five years getting the best medical training, Dr. Abede is returning to Ethiopia with his exceptional skills and will be one of two pediatric cardiac surgeons in the entire country. I believe I got the training I need to go back and treat this kind of patients. In the meantime, here at the Legacy Heritage Children's Home, there are many cooks in Mother's Kitchen, all whipping up special flavors that are unique to their country. As you can see in the house, it's always energized, everyone's always laughing, smiling, there's a lot of love that comes through and I love it. I love being here every day. And for staffers and volunteers interning at the children's home during their gap years, they're creating everlasting bonds with the children. It's really rewarding and I wish everyone to have that opportunity, like it's so much fun meeting all these kids and like getting to know them the best we can and having fun with them. Once they're like better and they get the clearance to go back home, then they leave and you kind of lose that connection. But I think like just going home and realizing those connections that you made is like really important and still like thinking about that and sharing with other people in my community. And you never know, one of these young superstars who have survived so much already may one day become the next generation of doctors. Other than Ethiopia, we have missions going out to Tanzania and to Zambia and to Rwanda and in all these countries and these doctors are working today independently based on Israeli knowledge. They are saving lives. They are saving the world, as we say, one heart at a time, saving lives of children who at the end of the day are, I would say, the pillars of our future.

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