Three Rivers Kids Foundation
Welcome to Three Rivers Kids Foundation. Three Rivers Kids Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to helping sick children in Guyana whose parents are too poor to afford medical care. If this is your first time visiting, please see our about page for more information about our organization.
There are hundreds of sick and poor children in Guyana who are in desperate need of medical help. Guyana does not have any pediatric cardiac surgeons and lacks many medical specailists and facilities. These children have to be brought overseas for treatment. Most of these children suffer from life threatening conditions and will not survive if they do not receive the proper medical care.
To date, Three Rivers Kids Foundation has helped over 62 children receive life-saving surgery (please take a look at our previous work to see some of the children we have helped), however there are hundreds more waiting for your help. Please donate today and help a child in need.
In addition to our annual fundraising dinner and dance, Three Rivers Kids Foundation is also holding a Valentine’s dinner and dance for supporters in Kitchener on Saturday February 4th, 2012. This event will take place at the Howard Johnson hotel, 1333 Weber St. E., Kitchener, ON. For more information please contact Ram: 519.496.1743, Rishi: 519.896.9501, Anita: 519.653.7890, or Basdeo: 519.886.4499
Seventeen Guyanese patients consisting of 15 children and two adults, were in mid-February flown to Max Hospital, in Delhi, India for much-needed medical treatment through an initiative arranged by the Three Rivers Kids Foundation (TRKF), a registered charity in Ontario, Canada.
The group is the largest TRFK has ever taken charge of, and included four- month-old Sachin Singh; five- year-old Pholmaitie Singh; Alvin Ramkumar, 14; Linden Mason ,15; Evlon Fordyce, eight; Mohan Persaud, 10; Jamal Frasor, six; Krishna Sohanlall, 12; Deepa Sahadeo, eight; Kayla Joseph, nine months; Hayden Mentore, 18 months; Anayah Lopes, nine months; Nathan Patterson, five; Masud Khan, 18 years; Lovlenia Persaud, eight years; Shelly Nauth, 33 years; and Tairajh Deokie, 50.
According to a release issued by the Foundation, all of the children were suffering from varying congenital disorders, such as ventricular septal defects (VSD); atrial septal defects (ASD); patent ductus ateriosus (PDA); Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF); and rheumatic heart disease (RHD).
“We had some very seriously ill children on this mission,” Jeanette Singh , president of the Foundation, was quoted as saying. A registered nurse, Singh is the one who accompanied the group to Delhi.
Noting that four-month-old Sachin Singh and five-year-old Pholmaitie Singh were the most gravely ill of the lot, Singh said it is a miracle that they made it all the way to India. Both children had to be admitted to ICU immediately upon arrival.
For Pholmaitie, it was her second open-heart surgery. The first was done some two years ago, and was facilitated by another organization. She yet needs to undergo one more such surgery in about a year’s time, Singh said, so as to have a conduit inserted into the organ, which should sustain her for life.
Singh said that because Pholmaitie is not yet out of the woods and needs further treatment, she was unable to travel with the group, which returned home a little over a week ago. But she is expected by Tuesday.
Meanwhile, young Sachin, who’d spent most of his short life in a hospital here in the city, had, apart from a large VSD (hole in the heart), a PDA (patent ductus ateriosus)and severe pulmonary artery hypertension which made surgery and post-operative care rather complicated.
“There were many challenges on this mission,” Singh said, adding: “Apart from having seriously ill children, there were other issues like bed availability in the ICU, accommodation for the children and their mothers, and transportation for such a large group. Most of the Guyanese patients required a longer stay in the ICU after surgery, mainly because they have developed pulmonary artery hypertension as a result of being left untreated since birth.”
Singh said the mission was largely made possible through the kind-heartedness and generosity of Toronto-based Guyanese businessman, Chris Mohan, who donated CDN$55,000 towards the cause, thus enabling the Foundation to assist the large group in obtaining the much-needed medical treatment.
The Foundation is also grateful to the local Ministry of Health for its financial contribution, as well as Mallika Mootoo of the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, who provided medical support to some of the more seriously ill children before they left for India, and for rendering their follow-up care.
Also coming in for high praise were Drs. Viresh Mahajan and K.S. Dagar and the rest of the cardiac team from Max Hospital in Delhi for the excellent care they provided to the patients; Mann Travel of Brampton, Ontario for assisting with the Toronto to Delhi leg of the journey; and all those who came out in support of the February 12 fundraiser, which was held in Toronto.
The volunteer-managed Three Rivers Kids Foundation, has, since its establishment in 2005, to date has successfully helped 81 patients from Guyana to obtain life-saving treatment in India.
In November 2010, Nicholas Dudnauth (6 years) from Parika, Kenneth Prince (10 months) from Mahaica and Shurish Baijanuth from Industry had to go to Max Hospital for urgent open heart surgery. Their lives were in danger and their only hope was to have the surgeries done as quickly as possible.
All three patients had very complex heart abnormalities and were very high risk cases. They recovered well and returned to Guyana in good health.
Above left – Kenneth and Nicholas with Dr. K.S. Dagar, pediatric cardiac surgeon and Dr. Viresh Mahajan, pediatric cardiologist from Max Heart Institute, Delhi.
Three Rivers Kids Foundation will be sending another group of children to India for much needed surgery in February, 2011, and is appealing for your help. Please see some of their pictures below:
