BY: ALYSSA MAHADEO
Imagine being a parent to a sick child, a child suffering from illness, in constant pain and discomfort and you feel helpless because you cannot afford the treatment that child needs to get better.
Since their establishment in 2000, The Caribbean Children’s Foundation (TCCF) has dedicated their efforts to help children from the Caribbean who are suffering from life-threatening ailments.
On Saturday, October 27th, TCCF hosted their 18th annual Angel Gala in fundraising efforts to assist critically ill children living in the Caribbean, an event giving new meaning to the saying ‘It takes a community to raise a child.’
For parents with children suffering from childhood illnesses life becomes challenging, precautions need to be taken, and sick children need constant care and attention the more severe the situation. It is a difficult and emotional time for many involved, as well as expensive to receive the treatment or surgeries they might need. Many families in this situation cannot afford to pay for the treatment a child might need that could potentially save their life.
“In 18 years, over 250 surgeries were paid for and it takes prudent management and a collaborative effort to achieve this level of success,” says President of TCCF Jay Brijpaul. “Instead of having heart surgery in a foreign land, it is much better to have it at home where family support is important during recovery and with TCCF, families do not have to worry about traveling accommodation and expenses.
With the aid of The International Children’s Heart’s Foundation/Babyheart (ICHF), SpineHope, SickKids Hospital, and the Herbie Fund, TCCF’s primary partners have helped provide the equipment, expertise, and treatments these children need to become healthier, and potentially live long and happy lives.
At the 18th Annual Angels Gala, people came out to show their support and offer their own pledges to the foundation working to help children like Kachell a scoliosis patient suffering from severe spinal deformities. With help from SpineHope, Kachell was able to have the appropriate tests conducted to determine the causes of her discomfort, x-rays that revealed the severity of her scoliosis and finally get the surgery that she needed to straighten her spine and set her on the path to recovery.
“It has been a long journey, and not an easy one, but together we have changed the lives of almost 200 Caribbean children over the last 3 years,” shares Dr. Rodrigo Soto, a Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon and CEO of Clinical Operations at ICHF. “You really need special people to do what we do, and we have found in TCCF the special people to partner with,” he said. “Our combined efforts have given a new opportunity to many kids who had no hope, but together we made that hope come true.”
Twelve Caribbean Angel babies had heart surgeries in July 2018 at the ICHF/BabyHeart Treatments Center in Georgetown, Guyana.
Attendees to the annual gala were encouraged to donate and were able to hear endless stories of other children who had been helped through the efforts of TCCF.
It was an evening of elegance, high spirits, and hope of a better future for Caribbean Children. Supporters were invited to attend the Annual Angels Gala, in hopes of raising awareness, giving back, and sharing in the TCCF’s mission to enable poor and critically ill Caribbean children to get the specialized medical care they need, as quickly as possible.
Another heartwarming story includes seventeen-year-old Lou Ann London, who was diagnosed with Parenchymal Haemorrhage (Bleeding in the Brain). She came to Canada in April 2018, and had surgery done at SickKids Hosptial in May, and was discharged later that month, and returned home in late June. Her family has been in contact with TCCF with an update to let them know that she is back in school and doing well.
Since 2000 the TCCF has paid over $1.5 Million for surgeries, and the children assisted come from islands throughout the Caribbean like Antigua, Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, and the Dominican Republic. They pride themselves on being transparent as they are managed and run by reputable, established and trusted individuals. Individuals who donate to TCCF know exactly where their money is going, each donation is tax deductible, and there is no payroll; everyone from the CEO to the field workers is a volunteer and dedicates their time to the charity.
Throughout the night there were many stories shared of the children helped by TCCF including a slideshow of photos of some of the little angels’ lives who have been touched by the continued efforts of TCCF suffering from congenital heart disease, brain tumours, scoliosis, and many other ailments.
“In the beginning it would cost us a lot more to provide these children with the help that they needed, having to bring them from the Caribbean to the hospitals where they could receive the surgeries or treatment they need.” shared Jay Brijpaul, President of TCCF. “It now costs us cheaper to have the ability to have these surgeries performed in the countries or the homes where these children live enabling the parents to get support from the family and take better care during recovery.”
TCCF has three international partners that include Herbie Foundation, International Children’s Heart Foundation (ICHF), BabyHeart, and SpineHope. They are currently in negotiations with another partner Gift of Life International (GOLI) for a treatment center in Jamaica.
“We’ve come very far in 18 years, but we still have a long way to go,” Brijpaul said. “Every child has a story to tell and our vision is to remove all barriers, especially financial, between a critically ill Caribbean child and access to proper medical treatment and care.”
TCCF would like to thank all of those individuals who attended the annual Angels Gala for coming out showing their support and donating to the foundation. They are proud to have a community that stands behind them with many businesses and organizations that donate to the charity on a regular basis, as well as their numerous media partners spreading the word of their cause.
The foundation would like to recognize their many volunteers who have so willingly dedicated their time to the organization as well as Inspire2Act the youth division of The Caribbean Children Foundation whose aim is to Educate, Engage, and Empower the next generation to connect with their communities and bring the vision and mission of TCCF to attention.
TCCF host fundraising events year-round and are always open to donations online on their website www.tccfangels.com. The Toronto Caribbean Newspaper is a friend to the organization and supports the charity, by donating back every month through ad sales purchased in the newspaper. TCCF deserves your support because you are able to see exactly where your money is going. It is a volunteer-run organization, and it is managed and run by reputable, established and trusted professionals. All donations are tax refundable.
The continued efforts of the TCCF driven by the faith and hope shared by the critically ill children and their families. In eighteen years TCCF has paid for 180 surgeries and they are recognized internationally and through their major partners that include Sick Kids Hospital/Herbie Fund which is the largest pediatric and academic health science center in Canada; The International Children’s Heart Foundation, whose mission is to bring the skills, technology and knowledge to cure and care for children with congenital heart disease in developing nations and Spine Hope, whose goals are to help correct spinal deformities and to provide state of the art treatment for children.
A little goes a long way, pledge to be a critically ill child’s Guardian Angel today and change their lives for the better. With your help, TCCF can help offer life-changing care to children who would not have otherwise had access to care in the Caribbean and those who have lived there know just how important that is to save a life.
