Apollo Hospitals Heart 2 Heart Buddy Carnival

Saina Nehwal joins school kids at ‘Heart 2 Heart Buddy Carnival’ organized by SACHi in aid of children suffering from heart disease!

Saini encourages kids to take up sports and make the country proud

Hyderabad, December 24th, 2011: Saving A Childs Heart Initiative (SACHi) a registered charity in India has been untiringly working for providing succor to children suffering from congenital heart disease. SACHi as part of its initiative to raise funds to cover the cost of treatment for children suffering from heart disease organized a ‘Heart 2 Heart Buddy Carnival at Apollo Health City, today.

Ace badminton star Saina Nehwal was the chief guest on the occasion. Dr Hari Prasad, CEO – Central, Apollo Hospitals Group; and 50 children from SACHi, CURE & SAHI Foundations and over 1500 children from different schools in the city including Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Oakridge joined the celebrations. “Heart 2 heart Buddy Carnival” was a fun filled fair for children with loads of games, rides , music , contests , food and much more.

Speaking on the occasion, Saina Nehwal wanted the children present to take up sports and excel in it to make their parents and the country proud. She said, if I could accomplish name and fame in sports, you too can. She thanked Apollo Hospitals for organizing this program in aid of a noble cause. Dr Hari Prasad said, there are several children in the country who can’t afford treatment for major ailments they suffer from. Apollo Hospitals’ foundations like SACHi for children with congenital heart disease, SAHI for children born with deafness and CURE foundation for children with cancer, have been aiding kids to get treated for such ailments and has already treated several of them. The revenue generated from today’s event will be used in getting these children treated, he added.

The carnival’s aim is to promote Youth/Family participation in supporting social causes, promoting Social responsibility and entrepreneurship with a fund raising objective, to save the lives of children affected by congenital heart diseases. The carnival had several activities that children enjoy like Face painting, Fashion show, Caricatures , Innovative Dressing, Camel rides, Puppet shows, Color your heart corner, Horse rides, Instant Games, Santa photo booth, Dance Floor, Bouncies, Cartoon characters, Juggler shows, amazing food counters and more…

Members of the Deccan Chargers team were present to add to the excitement of the Carnival. The Deccan Chargers Mascot gave the much awaited start to the DC IPL SEASON - 5 by celebrating the occasion with the kids and also by giving away goody bags to the children from SACHi .

The program was organized by Apollo Philanthropy and supported by Deccan Chargers, Apollo Munich Health Insurance, B+ve, Family Health Plan Limited and Pride Honda.

About SACHi: SACHi is a registered charity in India, working exclusively for children with heart diseases. Established in 2003, the foundation operates in association with Apollo Children’s Heart Hospital, India, and has already touched the lives of over 50,000 children with various heart conditions. Working in tandem with highly skilled specialists, SACHi’s support services include diagnostics, interventional procedures as well as rare and complicated open heart and closed heart surgeries. (For more details please check www.sachi.org.in)

SACHi’s impact: In the last nine years, SACH has made a tremendous impact in transforming tender young lives. Over 98% of the children operated so far, have survived, bringing hope and cheer to many despairing families. SACHi has launched several Educational, Awareness, Relief and Fund Raising Initiatives that tilt the scales for the ailing young of India. We actively engage with the community and have partnered with a number of individuals and institutions, to influence and change the tide.

“Thousands of children in India continue to succumb to heart disease. Thousands more wait for surgery and for funds that can support their cause. It is our dream at SACHi never to turn a single child away due to paucity of funds” says Ms Sangita Reddy, President, Apollo Philanthropy.

Apollo Philanthropy aims to empower educate and liberate people from all sections of society dealing with any kind of health issues. According to Ms. Sangita Reddy, “The Apollo Hospitals Group is the vanguard of health not only in Asia but around the world. In this leadership position, we have to set an example by giving back to society. With this in mind, the Apollo Family decided to set up APOLLO PHILANTHROPY - an umbrella foundation with important spines acting to provide awareness and help the needy with dignity.”

Congenital heart disease in India: Congenital heart disease in India is significantly higher than most other countries around the world. Infants who need urgent medical attention belong to lower socio-economic groups and do not survive to celebrate their first birthday. If these young ones are to have a fighting chance at survival and to dream of leading normal, healthy lives, they need to be diagnosed early and treated appropriately. Pediatric Cardiology is also a neglected specialty in India and not many people know we have some of the finest surgeons in this area in our country. The challenge is to build awareness and provide access to timely, quality medical care.

Deccan Chargers: “It gives us immense pleasure to continue our association with Apollo Hospitals and contribute to this noble cause of Saving A Child’s Heart initiative by Apollo Philanthropy. Deccan Chargers has always been supportive towards giving back to the Society and Well wishers, who have been instrumental for getting us to the position we are currently in. We congratulate SACHi and assert that Deccan Chargers will walk Hand-in-Hand for many such future endeavors. “ – Mr E. Venkatram Reddy, COO-Deccan Chargers

Apollo Munich Health Insurance Co. Ltd. is a joint venture between Apollo Hospitals Group and Munich Health. The company offers comprehensive health insurance plans for individuals and their families as well as for corporate houses. The company also offers individual personal accident plans and travel insurance for individuals, families and senior citizens. Apollo Munich is a specialized health insurance company in India that has expertise in both health and insurance and is able to leverage this understanding for the benefit of its customers.

Munich Health draws on Munich Re’s insurance and reinsurance competence with over 5,000 employees and clients in more than 40 countries. Munich Re stands for exceptional solution-based expertise, consistent risk management, financial stability and client proximity. This is how Munich Re creates value for clients, shareholders and staff. The Group – which pursues an integrated business model consisting of insurance and reinsurance – achieved a profit of €1.5bn on premium income of around €38bn. It operates in all lines of insurance, with around 44,000 employees throughout the world.

Family Health Plan (TPA) Ltd (FHPL) is one of the initial Third Party Administrators in Health Insurance sector for providing quality assistance to core groups of health care industry. FHPL is licensed by Insurance Regulatory And Development Authority of India and acts as a nodal agency between the core groups of health insurance industry, viz., Insurance companies, insured members (Policy holders) and Hospitals (healthcare service providers). FHPL ensures quality health care and bridges the gap between the sources for rendering the right service, at right time, to the right person, at a right price.