With at least 15 children born each year in Barbados with heart defects that require surgical intervention, Variety the Children’s Charity Gold Hearts 2014 campaign is calling on Barbadians to buy a heart and save a heart.
The campaign, themed Hearts4Hearts, was at Cave Shepherd, Broad Street, yesterday to raise funds for congenital heart disease.
Variety member Angela Worme, who was in charge of sales at the store, said of the around 4 000 births in Barbados each year, 30 to 35 children were born with a heart defect, and at least 15 would need surgery or some form of intervention. Â
Worme said each year the group helped two or three children and it was very expensive to send them overseas as it could cost about $60 000 per child.
The group was trying to reduce the medical costs by bringing a specialist here to provide care to at least ten or 12 children.
Worme said the club’s members had contacted the specialist overseas and the surgeon and needed equipment would be brought here at least twice a year to provide services.
As members sold gold hearts, patron of Variety, Member of Parliament Mara Thompson, was on hand to pin hearts for donors as they bought the gold tokens. Several other local celebrities assisted with the effort.
The hearts have been on sale since February 10 at select banks, supermarkets and schools. (LK)
