Annual donor visits to Rotary clubs on both sides of the border by Gift of Life Board members have begun. The Amherst club was the first visited this year by Pat Castiglia, Co-President and treasurer for the U.S. clubs in District 7090. The Amherst club has been a staunch supporter and an annual donor for several years, having held a successful social function to benefit Gift of Life in 2024. The club is planning to continue with a generous donation again this year. They embrace the motto of Service above Self by helping in providing surgery and medical care for children born with congenital heart problems in underdeveloped countries. These children would die without surgical intervention. Such interventions have become almost routine in the U.S. and Canada but are almost never available in underdeveloped countries. The Amherst club was also a major donor to the work being done in Ghana in 2024. A piece of medical equipment was desperately needed on short notice. Our district was able to make the required donation for that cardiac surgical emergency. Coincidentally, the president of the Amherst club, James Quaye, is from Ghana and is planning his visit home this spring. He is hoping to visit the GOL site there.
Please contact Pat Castiglia for club visits in the U.S. at ptcas34@hotmail.com or Cathy Henry for Canadian clubs at dhenry@cogeco.ca
Pictured are James Quaye. Amherst President; Pat Castiglia, GOL Co-president; and Izzy Abdullah, Amherst President-Elect.
Approximately 1.3 million children are born each year with cardiac life- threatening conditions and 99% of these children live in areas with no access to remediation. GOL currently provides care in 80 countries and is involved in a long-term sustainability plan involving the development of cardiac centers in countries meeting the required standards for care. The plan includes the development of local medical personnel and facilities capable of providing this care as well as the development of local financial and political support for the pediatric cardiac care centers.