Herbie Fund Has Worked Miracles For A Quarter Century
Posted June 21, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Their names were foreign sounding to North American ears – Tinashe and Tinotenda.
But their plight was something everyone could relate to. The conjoined twins had been born in Africa but medical experts knew their only chance at a normal life was separating them before it was too late.
That’s where the Herbie Fund came in. The charity brings youngsters from around the world to Canada for life saving operations most parents could never afford. And many countries don’t have the expertise to perform the medical miracles, even if the money was available.
When the plight of the kids and their forlorn young mom reached the ears of two Toronto residents, they gathered up their resources to make sure the operation would take place at the Hospital for Sick Children.
“We explained why we needed to do this because Tinotenda and Tinashe needed our support,” recalls the local hero named Diane. “So we put up a fund-raiser dinner and we also collected some money in between, and we raised over $8,000.”
The title of that money raiser kind of sums up the spirit of the Herbie Fund itself – “Any Child Is My Child.”
“That really brought the community together and saying, hey, if they were in Zimbabwe, we would have helped them anyways, so this is how we brought them together,” she remembers. “We were so surprised. We were expecting 130 but we got 500 people who actually came for that, so it was really a good event for us.”
In March 2005, after a delicate marathon operation that had the whole world holding its collective breath, the twins were successfully separated and finally went home for a new life that only the Herbie Fund made possible.
It’s a happy familiar tale for those who administer the charity.
“Specialists aren’t trained the way that our surgeons are trained and they don’t have the technology and the amazing institution that we have behind us,” relates Kamla Sharma, the director of the International Patient Program. “So the families are really desperate, and when they do hear about the Herbie Fund and the fact that money won’t bar them from coming if we have funds available, they’re very grateful.”
And despite the enormous costs involved in the medical system, it won’t cost you that much to help – monthly payments of just $21 – or about 70 cents a day – will make it possible for doctors here to see 30 children a year.
Is it a worthwhile investment? Sharma insists the answer is obvious. “Their lives are changed forever,” she concludes.
And in this case, forever really does last a lifetime.
To contribute to the Herbie Fund, click here, or call 1-800-750-8898.
