First half newsletter 2020


Do not leave Solo to run solo: Run with Solo
The President of CFACH, Solomon ‘Solo’ Musyimi is running 2020 Kilometres (approx 1255 Miles) this year to raise U S $ 50 000 (Approx Ksh. 5 000 000) for CFACH programs. For every 1 Mile Solomon runs, he makes an incredible difference in the life of an indigent Kenyan child suffering from congenital heart disease. Here is what motivates him. It would be great to have you run with him or contribute to his efforts to save a child’s life. Will you? Learn more about how you can participate here.

 

No more turning blue: Baby Sahara’s successful surgery

 


Sahara at home post surgery

Baby Sahara went through an open heart surgery successfully on Tuesday 14th January. She was in the ICU for a few days before she was transferred to the HDU, later to the wards and now she is home! She has her smile back. Her mended little heart is now healing. No turning blue again- the cyanosis is gone!

Sahara is the 2nd born in her family. She has a history of heart murmur and cyanosis (bluish color of the skin and mucus membranes).

Home away from home

Baby Mawanda is bubbly and friendly, enjoying climbing up and down the stairs at the family support centre. Her new found play mate is baby Tamiza who has been at the center for the last one year. Mawanda is from Somalia and Tamiza is Kenyan. This introduces a language barrier between them. Fortunately, this barrier does not last long; they have a common language- play, and we are glad to see them at it! 

We had Mawanda and her parents at our family support centre for 20 days between the months of February and March. She was at our centre on transit to India for a corrective heart surgery. Their stopover in Kenya was to process their Indian Visas. Although Mawanda is not in our program, she was referred to our center by our international partner, Chain of Hope. Partnerships like this have opened our family support centre to many families even when we are not necessarily working with them directly.

In 2019, we were able to host 57 families for 516 nights at our family support centre and by the end of the first half of 2020, we have accommodated 19 families for 272 nights.


Mawanda and her parents at CFACH family centre

Dinner with Dr. Mike Liske and Dr. Tom Doyle
(Hearts of East Africa)
Dr. Michael Liske (far left) and Dr. Tom Doyle (middle) with the CFACH Kenya team
Every year, Dr. Michael Liske and Dr. Tom Doyle fly to Kenya to offer lifesaving heart surgeries and catheterization for children with heart diseases and defects. This year, CFACH team was glad to host them for dinner and get to learn more about their passion that has kept them sacrificially giving their time and skills for the last 10 years. Dr. Liske and Dr. Doyle fly in with other team members from Hearts of East Africa who all together attend to many heart patients at the Tenwek Mission Hospital in Bomet.

In memoriam- Dr. Simon Hercules
Dr. Simon Hercules helped so many of our children get subsidized surgeries at his New Hope hospital in Chennai, India. Dr. Hercules succumbed to COVID 19 in April 2020. Though we are deeply saddened by his passing, we celebrate his life.

The M3 Conference
The Mobilizing Medical Missions (M3) Conference is an annual conference held in Houston, Texas bringing together stakeholders in the medical field. This year, Solomon Musyimi, the President of CFACH, Dr. Tom Kumenda of the CFACH US Board and Irene Mukumu, Secretary of the Kenya Board, were privileged to attend the conference as representatives of CFACH. The theme for this year’s conference was “What Do You See?” The challenge was to see the world through the eyes of Jesus and help in making a difference in a broken and complicated world.
This year’s conference brought together 90 exhibitors from different states in the U.S and around the world. The M3 Conference was an amazing opportunity for CFACH. We had the opportunity to showcase our work, and connect with several people and organizations in the field of medical missions. We got strategic connections with missionary doctors, medical surgeons, fundraisers, missionary pilots, and so many other professionals. It was an atmosphere of hope, love, and passion for service.

From left: Dr.Tom Kumenda, Mr. Solomon Musyimi and Ms.Irene Mukumu

 CFACH is registered as a Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) with the Government of Kenya. Take Heart Association Project (THAP) doing business as Care for A Child’s Heart (CFACH) is a registered 501 (c) 3 organization in the State of Texas, USA.

We support children from needy backgrounds suffering from heart diseases and defects through treatment and palliative care.

 

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