On July 28, VinaCapital Foundation (VCF) and the Heartbeat Vietnam program (HBVN) in collaboration with Medical, Educational Missions and Outreach (MEMO) and CardiacLife Foundation (CLF) met with 11 children suffering from congenital heart defects from all over the country and their families at the Ho Chi Minh City Medical University Hospital. These children are among those who are supported by the “Open Our Hearts Gala” program, which was organized by MEMO and CardiacLife Foundation in collaboration with Heartbeat Vietnam.
During the event, we were honored to welcome the representatives: Associate Professor., Ph.D., Dr. Nguyen Hoang Dinh, Deputy Director of Cardiovascular Center and Head of Cardiovascular Surgery Department – University of Medical Center HCMC, Ph.D., Dr. Cao Dang Khang – Head of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery – the University of Medical Center HCMC, Mr. Nguyen Hai Dang (Kevin) – Founder of CardiacLife Foundation and Representative of MEMO, Mr. Rad Kivette – CEO of the VinaCapital Foundation, and Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Hue – Director of Heartbeat Vietnam and Grassroots programs. Dr. Phung Manh Lanh – an anesthesiology and pain management specialist – advisor of MEMO also joined the event online from the United States.
This meeting was an opportunity for these Vietnamese students in the U.S. to return to their homeland, reconnect with their roots, meet children with congenital heart defects and their families to understand more about their situation and realize how severe and urgent this dangerous disease is if the children are not promptly operated on. The children shared their journey, motivation, and difficulties during the fundraising process. The CardiacLife Foundation and MEMO shared their future plans with the Heartbeat Vietnam program, with the goal of all children in Vietnam having happy lives and healthy hearts. On this occasion, a member of CardiacLife Foundation, Vlogger Jenny Huynh also shared her desire to spread positive messages in the community to help Heartbeat Vietnam save more children with congenital heart defects. Along with Vlogger Jenny Huynh, CardiacLife Foundation and MEMO are still calling for more donations to help seven other babies with congenital heart defects through the trip to Can Tho province, Vietnam on July 31.
Previously in May 2022, the Open Our Hearts Gala 2022 organized by MEMO and CardiacLife Foundation – 2 non-profit organizations in the U.S. successfully raised over 1.3 million VND (56,521 USD) for Heartbeat Vietnam to help provide the cost of surgeries and post-surgery re-examination for 30 disadvantaged children with congenital heart defects.
About CardiacLife Foundation and MEMO.:
CardiacLife Foundation (CLF) is an organization established by students living in Vietnam and abroad with the goal of supporting Vietnamese children to access essential health care services, especially heart health. Our organization utilizes the C.A.R.E model (Care, Advocacy, Research, Education) to overcome the barriers of cardiovascular diseases in low- and middle income countries such as Vietnam.
MEMO is an organization that has been operating for 16 years in the U.S. with the goal of providing medical and educational support to disadvantaged children and Vietnamese communities living in remote areas of Vietnam. Their activities include sponsoring surgery costs, providing medical examination and medicine distribution, and awarding scholarships. The MEMO leaders are Vietnamese doctors and dentists living in the U.S. The organization is operated by a group of pre-health students in the U.S. Thanks to the connection of the Ho Chi Minh City Medical University Hospital, MEMO cooperated with CLF to implement a fundraising campaign called “Open Our Hearts Gala” in the U.S. in May 2022. A total fundraising amount of more than 1.3 billion VND was contributed to the Heartbeat Vietnam program to finance surgery costs and post-surgery re-examination for 30 disadvantaged children with congenital heart defects.
