Arts & Entertainment

ON THE COVER

Mending 'Broken' Hearts

Photo exhibit chronicles children around the world
whose lives have been saved by Israeli medical teams.

Ilene Wolff
Special to the Jewish News

A

philanthropic program that
mends children's hearts may be
doing more to foster goodwill
between Israel and other countries than
any ambassador or peace talks ever could.
The program, Save a Child's Heart, is
composed of volunteer Israeli doctors,
nurses and support staff who have done
heart surgery on children from 33 coun-
tries. Save a Child's Heart is documented
in an international photo exhibit that will
be on display 8 a.m.-8 p.m. March 13-31
near the entrance of the Suite 100 surgical
area on the first floor of the South Tower at
Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. Beaumont
is the only Michigan stop for the show.
"The exhibition is designed to be dis-
played at Israeli embassies, consulates and
cities around the world as part of Israel's
60th anniversary celebrations and Save
a Child's Heart's 13th year of operations,"
says Orli Gil, consul general of Israel to the
Midwest United States. Stops on the tour
include sites in the U.S., Canada, Mexico
and Brazil as well as Europe, Africa, Asia
and Australia.
Carla Schwartz, community affairs man-
ager for Beaumont, says: "These photos
tell such a heartwarming, uplifting story. It
is our hope that people in the community
will visit our hospital to see the results of
the work done by these dedicated Israeli
men and women."
Sponsoring the exhibit in addition
to Beaumont are the Israeli Consulate,
Jewish Community Relations Council
of Metropolitan Detroit and the Jewish
National Fund. The Detroit Jewish News is
the media sponsor.
The exhibit consists of 45 photos that
measure about 2 feet by 3 feet, mostly of
the children whose hearts — and lives
— have been saved.
"We really look on it as building bridges
of peace," says David Litwack, U.S. execu-
tive director of Save a Child's Heart, who is
based in Washington.
He cites a 2007 survey the organization
conducted that showed Palestinians who
had contact with Save a Child's Heart have a
much more favorable attitude toward Israel.
Litwack says he hopes the exhibit will
foster understanding of what Israeli
citizens are doing to help children

Above: SACH's

volunteer doctors,

nurses and support

staff have done heart
surgery on children

from 33 countries.

Left: Most of the
children travel

to Israel for the

surgery, while others

undergo surgery

in their home
countries.

tion several years ago and more recently
flew to Israel to attend a fundraiser for
the organization that was hosted by the
British ambassador to Israel.
Allan Gale, associate director of the
local Jewish Community Relations
Council, made the photo exhibit available
to Beaumont. Its reputation as a premier
heart hospital, high visibility and central
location make Beaumont an ideal loca-
tion for the photo exhibit, he says.
More than 2,000 children from coun-
tries such as China, Moldova, Ethiopia,
Jordan, Iraq, Haiti and Ecuador have
been saved through Save a Child's Heart.
Most of the children travel to Israel for
the surgery, while others undergo sur-
gery in their home countries by the Save
a Child's Heart medical team who work
with local medical personnel. Because
of the varying conditions they find in
infrastructure and staff, the medical
team travels fully equipped for any pos-
sible situation.
In addition, medical staff conducts
a weekly cardiology clinic for pre-
screened Palestinian children, including
ones from the West Bank and Gaza.
Photographers have joined the medical
missions and photographed the children
and their parents at the Wolfson Medical
Center in Holon, Israel, where the chil-
dren are treated, and the nearby Save a
Child's Heart home in Azur, Israel, where
the patients stay during treatment.
The organization was founded by Dr.
Ami Cohen, formerly of the Wolfson
Medical Center, in 1995. His first patients
were two Ethiopian children who traveled
to Israel for their surgeries. Even though
the American-born Dr. Cohen died in
2001, his work continues. II

Ilene Wolff is a member of the media rela-
tions staff at Beaumont Hospitals, Royal Oak.

regardless of their nationality or ethnic-
ity; highlight the need to support orga-
nizations like Save a Child's Heart; and
increase the awareness of congenital
heart disease in the developing world.
"Here in the United States, it's expensive
but routinely treated," Litwack says. "In the
developing world, it's a death sentence'
The exhibit will not only showcase a
medical charity doing its finest work, it

also may have the additional effect of
countering negative publicity about Israel,
says Ashley Israel of Farmington Hills.
"It lets people know that people from
a hospital within the State of Israel are
doing good deeds for children throughout
the world," he says.
Ashley Israel, whose father oversees the
London branch of Save a Child's Heart,
held a local fundraiser for the organiza-

The Save a Child's. Heart
International Photography Exhibit
will be on display 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
March 13-31, at Beaumont Hospital,
Royal Oak, first floor (near Suite
100), South Tower. For more infor-
mation, call Carla Schwartz at
(248) 551-9001; and for a sneak
peek, go to www.saveachildsheart.
com/sach.htm.

March 5 • 2009 Cl