Digicel plaque presentation – from left to right – Rahul Nicholson-Coe, Martin Bould, Gene Thompson, Richard Parchment
Digicel, a mobile
telecommunications company that operates in 31 markets across the
Caribbean, Central America and Oceania regions, has been presented with a
plaque of appreciation
in recognition of its contribution to the ‘Have a Heart’ campaign in
partnership with Health City Cayman Islands.
Have a Heart, a
philanthropic organisation formed in 2000, has supported more than 6,000
paediatric heart surgeries in India to date. The charity formed a
partnership with Health
City Cayman Islands, headed by Mr Gene Thompson, and subsequently
joined forces with Haiti Cardiac Alliance, a US-based non-profit
organisation, to facilitate
cardiac surgery at Health City for a number of Haitian children.
“Many of the heart
problems faced by these children cannot be dealt with in Haiti as the
surgeries are too complicated. We are extremely excited to be working
with the surgeons
and staff at Health City as we know that they have the expertise and
facilities to help these children,” Mr
Owen Robinson, Executive Director of Haiti Cardiac Alliance said.
Digicel stepped in to
support the initiative by generously providing one of its private jets
to transport the children and their families from Haiti directly to
Grand Cayman for
their life-saving surgeries. The plaque was presented to Mr Martin
Bould, CEO of Digicel Group Cayman and Rahul Nicholson-Coe, Chief
Operating Officer of Digicel Cayman.
“We’re proud to have been
a part of such a worthy cause,” Mr Bould said. “To see these children,
some of whom could hardly walk without difficulty breathing, now playing
as children
should, is really touching. We are glad that Digicel could be involved
and help people in need in our region.”
The cardiac surgeries, completed free-of-charge at Health City Cayman Islands, were led by
Dr Binoy Chattuparambil, Senior Cardiothoracic and
Vascular Surgeon, and Dr Sripadh Upadhya, Senior Paediatric
Cardiologist.
Dr Chandy Abraham,
Medical and Facility Director at Health City said, “The operations went
extremely well and many of the children were eating and smiling and
interacting with
our staff soon after surgery. They were extremely brave.”
Mr Gene Thompson thanked
Digicel and said without its contribution of its company plane, the
children and their families would have needed to travel via the USA with
a visa, adding
a tremendous amount to the cost of their trip, and possibly making it
unachievable.
“We are incredibly
grateful to the generosity of Digicel, who have been instrumental in
changing the lives of these children for the better. We look forward to
extending this
charitable offering to many others in need, which is the philosophy
that Health City was borne out of.”
