Recognising the need to save children with afflicted hearts from an untimely death, Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, a renowned heart surgeon and his team founded the Kiddies Heart Foundation. This is a registered charitable trust with the sole objective of raising funds to help conduct surgeries on children with heart ailments. Its main purpose is to create an awareness about paediatric heart problems.

Indians are more susceptible to heart diseases than Europeans. India produces the largest number of children with heart diseases, approximately 600 children a day. Out of the two-lakh babies per year, approximately only 2,500 will have the opportunity to have the necessary life saving heart surgery and the rest will perish with out any hope.

One of the foundation's aims is to provide quality heart care to the underprivileged children by offering concessional packages, accurate diagnosis minus the doctor's fees for children below the age of 12 years. Some of the projects undertaken to achieve the above objective include organising heart camps in rural areas and offering treatment to patients along with the recommendation of the necessary treatment.

The poster of the Kiddies Heart Foundation has the picture of a lady looking dotingly at a tiny baby laden with oxygen tubes and the caption saying 'It takes two people to cure this 2-day baby's heart. We have the doctor. We need YOUR help.' A succinct but fitting entreat!

All donations to the foundation are exempt from tax under Section 80 G, and you can be confident that 100 per cent of your donation will go towards a needy child's heart surgery.

Those who want to share the compassionate mission or obtain help can contact the foundation's Honorary Director, Mrs. Maureen Berlin at:

Address: Kiddies Heart Foundation, 401,
Seebo Apartments, 26/2,
Aga Abbas Ali Road, Bangalore 560 042.
Mobile Phone: 98440 05335

An Interview with Dr Devi Prasad Shetty

Click here for more information: www.hehearthelp.org

Indian Heritage Academy (IHA) Trust and its sister organization, Cartman are jointly striving to foster Indian heritage, philosophy and culture in the city. Its Managing Trustee, Prof. N.S. Ramaswamy is the man behind this mission. Not just that, by adopting its nearby two acre vacant site of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) the Cartman and IHA volunteers and members have transformed it into a green farm. In the BDA farm site, amid 300 varieties of trees and plants, an open air amphitheatre, exhibition hall, environment and animal welfare centre are being maintained by the trust.

Prof. Ramaswamy started to conduct lecture series on Indian heritage once every week at his residence in 1987. The lectures go a long way in promoting national unity and international understanding as well as in fostering inter-religious harmony. Promulgation of Indian culture, art and literature is the main aim of the lectures of the academy. Initially, these lecture-series inspired Prof. Ramaswamy to dream and build the IHA. The academy has been expressing the need for constructing such a centre in its own site with multifaceted objectives and activities.

The IHA has its site in fourth block of Koramangala and the building consists of a hall which was inaugurated in September 1999. But still, the academy has plans to build a library cum-reading room. Personnel, with stress related problems, from Public Sector undertakings like HAL, ITI, BHEL, KPTCL, Kudremukh Iron and Ore company and the State Pollution Control Board have taken the meditation and yoga training classes and got best results, according to the Chief Project Co-ordinator of Cartman, and representative of IHA, T.N.K. Kurup.

The IHA popularises about Indian heritage, culture, arts and literature abroad through the circulation of its brochures and literature. Foreign tourists and organizations who come to India can be guided by the IHA. For this, the IHA is in touch with the Satya Saibaba abode, Puttaparthy in Andhra Pradesh and Brindavanam, Whitefield in the city, says Mr Kurup.

Now the cultural and yoga programmes being conducted by the academy are being enthusiastically attended by people whose age ranges from 15 years to 50 years. The academy conducts regular camps in which children are taught music, dance, yoga, meditation and painting. Current tie ups with organisations like Nada Surabhi, Vyakthi Vikasa Kendra, Chinmaya Mission, Aashwasan are helping a lot in conducting such music and cultural programmes.

Many members of the academy know Reiki and they also invite experts in Vedas, music, dance, yoga, and meditation to lecture. The support from children and parents has been encouraging. "We have covered six Upanishads, 18 chapters of Bhagavadgita, Gospel of Ramana Maharshi, Bajagovindam, Vivek Choodamani of Shankaracharya," says Mr Kurup. The trust collect Rs 200 annually for individual memberships and Rs 2,000 for companies. More details can be obtained from the academy.

Address:
# 870, 17E Main, Koramangala Block sixth,
Bangalore-560 095.
Phone: 2553 0304, 2553 0121, 25534089.
Fax: 2553 3214.

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