Sunil Gavaskar visited Mumbai recently to attend an event by the Rotary Club of Bombay Airport. The event was held at the Rotary Service Centre, Juhu Tara Road. It celebrated a big number — 850 children from poor families who got free heart surgeries through the club’s Gift of Life project.
The surgeries were done at Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Centre for Child Heart Care. Children who had the surgery were present at the event along with their families. For many of them, it was the first time they were coming together to mark how far they had come.
Six Years of the Gift of Life Project
The Rotary Club of Bombay Airport started the Gift of Life project six years ago. Since then, it has raised close to Rs 12 crores to pay for heart surgeries for children born with heart defects. The project itself is worth Rs 3.5 crores and is working towards helping around 250 children get the surgery and medical care they need.
PP Nitin Mehta, who heads the project, has been driving this work from the front. He said at the event that no child should be turned away from treatment just because the family cannot afford it. When the children smile after surgery, he said, that is when the work feels worth it.
Several Rotary clubs from India and abroad have supported this project. Clubs from Berlin, Delhi, Mumbai, and Fort Wayne in Indiana, USA have all been part of it. Rotary International has also pitched in through its World Fund.
The Real Scale of the Problem in India
India has a serious problem with heart defects in newborns. Every year, over two lakh children are born with some form of congenital heart condition. Out of these, around 70,000 need surgery before they turn one.
But most families never make it to the operating table. Either they do not have the money, or they find out too late. Dr Prabhatha Rashmi, who heads Paediatric Cardiac Surgery at Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Centre, said these defects can become fatal if ignored. A surgery done at the right time can give a child a completely normal life, she added.
That is exactly what makes a project like Gift of Life important. It is not just about funding surgery. It is about catching the problem in time and making sure the child actually gets treated.
What Gavaskar Said at the Event
Gavaskar did not just show up and give a speech. He sat with the children and their families. He listened to their stories. Many of these children had gone through open-heart surgery at a very young age, and their parents had gone through months of worry and uncertainty.
The legendary Indian Cricketer said meeting the children moved him deeply. He called them brave and said the doctors and Rotary Club members doing this work are the real heroes. He also said that moments like these show what is possible when people come together with the right intention.
For the families present, having someone like Gavaskar show up and acknowledge their children’s journey clearly meant a lot. The event was not just a celebration of numbers. It was personal for everyone in that room.
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