Page 39 - Fiji Traveller 2023 Issue 5

50% of those kids will need surgical intervention, about half of communities such as the LDS Church, United Nations agencies,
those within the first year of life for a good outcome. other NGOs and corporates. Individuals stepped up as well; a
Congenital heart defects, which are often undetectable New Zealand couple gifted some of their retirement savings to
at birth, can lead to severe health issues if left untreated. pay for a state-of-the-art echocardiogram machine; an American
The foundation’s heart screening centre is focused on early man sold a home and donated the proceeds to the Foundation.
detection, as Dr Tappoo says, the heartbreaking reality is that “If it wasn't for him, we couldn't have started even building, we
some children arrive too late for surgery. couldn't even put a hole in the ground,” said Dr Tappoo.
The visiting medical teams performing operations at the
Free and accessible hospital come from India, Australia, New Zealand, Oman,
The first thing you notice on entering the hospital is the Singapore, Papua New Guinea, the UK and other locations.
absence of a cashier’s desk. There is a colourful play area for They are all volunteers.
children, comfortable seats and a big map illustrating the network Director of Cardiac Surgery at the Queensland Children's
of hospitals to which the facility belongs, but nowhere to pay. Hospital in Australia, Dr Prem Venugopal led the most recent
That’s because the hospital offers its services completely free team, saying that it was an amazing experience to conduct the
of charge. successful surgeries of 14 children, six of whom were less than
For families struggling with their child’s diagnosis, that is a six months old.
massive relief. In the future, Dr Tappoo sees the hospital as extending its
Speaking at a ‘Gift of Life’ ceremony recently, Adi Balawa services to Paciifc Island children from more countries, building
Baleiono described how worried she was when she heard that capacity for screening in the region, and expanding its research,
her daughter, Meiva Raikanawa had two holes in her heart. They education and teaching work. Its core role will remain life-saving
had taken Meiva to the Colonial War Memorial hospital with what operations.
they thought was pneumonia, when she was diagnosed. “Some babies will be very symptomatic from birth,” said Dr
Meiva’s grandmother, Esita, said the baby had gone from Tappoo. “They're very critical lesions. And if you don't operate
being lethargic and weak, to happy and active. within the first month of life, they're just going to die. So there's
“I want to thank all the people inside [the hospital]. All the some really critical ones. And then there are others, which you
nurses and the doctors, they supported my daughter and my need to operate within the first year or first two years of life.
grand daughter. They provided everything. But if you actually operate on these kids, you really are giving
“Everything is beautiful, so nice here. When we enter that them a new gift of life because the results are fantastic, they
door, they welcome us, they are laughing with us, they shake live normal lifespan, and they don't need multiple surgeries. So
hands, they say bula.” you're investing in the future by investing in these children.”
Founding trustees, Mahendra and Maya Tappoo note that the
$25 million hospital is the “largest project ever undertaken by an To find out how you can support the Sai Prema Foundation
NGO in the history of Fiji.” And while the Tappoos are the driving and the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children's Hospital, visit
force behind the foundation and hospital, support has come giftoflife.com
from the Fiji government, which gifted the land it sits on, faith

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