TORONTO — It costs $10,000 to save a child’s life, said Marni Brinder Byk, the new executive director of Save a Child’s Heart (SACH) Canada, at a May 5 fashion fundraiser.
The event was the first event of its kind for the Israeli charity’s Canadian branch, which works to raise awareness and funds to enable its Israeli partner organization to provide free, life-saving cardiac surgery to children from developing countries.
SACH also trains surgeons and medical professionals from developing nations so that they will one day have the knowledge and skills to establish independent treatment centres in their countries.
“A Night of Fashion from the Heart,” held at Holt Renfrew on Bloor Street and hosted in collaboration with Holt Renfrew, included an in-store dessert reception, speakers from SACH in Israel, a mini-fashion show and an opportunity for attendees to shop at a number of the Holt Renfrew’s luxury boutiques, including Gucci and Chanel.
With 10 per cent of profits from the evening’s shopping going to SACH, Brinder Byk said that although final sales numbers were still undetermined, the event met its goal to bring in at least $100,000 in sales, which would enable it to fund at least one surgery.
“Ten percent of $100,000… covers the cost of bringing a child and their parent or guardian to Israel, including flights and accommodation, as well as the cost of care. With every $10,000, we can save the life of a child – that’s our magic number,” she said.
About 200 people – mostly women – mingled and sampled wine and hors d’oeuvres in the mezzanine of the store’s shoe department before opening remarks by Holt Renfrew vice-president James Watt, SACH Foundation vice-chair Riva Grinshpan and Brinder Byk.
Brinder Byk then introduced guest speakers Dr. Hagi Dekel, an Israeli pediatric cardiac surgeon from SACH; Dr. Yayu Mekonnen, an Ethiopian pediatric cardiac surgeon at SACH, and Fatima Sarsour, the co-ordinator and translator for Palestinian and
Arab-speaking families at SACH.
Mekonnen, who has been in Israel for the past three years on a fellowship at SACH, will, when he returns to Ethiopia, be the very first pediatric heart surgeon in the country.
“Ethiopia is a big country population-wise, but we’ve never had a pediatric heart surgeon before, so anyone who needs cardiac surgery has to go abroad if they can pay for it. And if they can’t, it’s very sad,” he said.
He noted that SACH does open heart surgery for about 200 patients a year and other interventional procedures for about 50 patients a year, and stressed the importance of supporting SACH.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from. Kids are the future of the world. What brought everyone together tonight is kids.”
Sarsour, who lives in Israel in the Arab town of Kfar Kassam, has worked at SACH for the past seven years.
She has no reservations about working for an Israeli organization, she said.
“I know for some people, who don’t know about the complicated reality we live in, it sounds weird for an Arab girl to live in Israel, but no, we live together. I have many Jewish friends. I studied at Tel Aviv University, I have many Jewish friends at work,” she said.
Sarsour said she has seen mutual understanding develop between Israeli and Palestinian parents of SACH patients. According to the organization’s website, nearly half of all children treated by SACH come from the Palestinian Authority, and more than 1,500 Palestinian children have undergone open heart surgery there since SACH’s founding.
“Palestinian families often have to come through borders and need permits to come to Israel. They usually don’t have relatives who can come to the hospital. They are alone,” she said. “Sometimes I see co-operation between Israeli and Palestinian parents. A Palestinian family will say, ‘My Israeli neighbour helped me watch my baby while I went to eat.’ Despite the complicated reality we live in, I see this co-operation. There is still some hope.”
The presentation concluded with six young women, all current or past SACH volunteers, modelling Holt Renfrew outfits.
