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Prakash M. Swamy

Guyana's First Lady, Uma Jagdeo.

NEW YORK, July 27

MOST first ladies of world leaders are considered show pieces. Decked in best costumes and dazzling signature clothes, they go around exhibiting their pomp and popularity. But Guyana's First Lady Uma Jagdeo is an exception. She recently launched `Kids First Fund' to help children who need immediate medical help in Guyana.

A not-for-profit, NGO, it aims to provide financial assistance to the poor and needy children of Guyana, who require emergency medical treatment. "Kids First Fund has no overheads or administration costs. I use my office and run with the help of volunteers and hence we guarantee that every dollar raised goes directly to the children," she said in New York recently.

The assistance range from airfare to and from Guyana, surgery, medicines, CT/MRI scans, ultrasound, x-rays, hearing aids, wheel chairs, and treatment of malnutrition.

She says that there is a backlog of treating 5,000 children in Guyana. Some of the kids have been ailing for years because of limited funding, lack of specialists, equipment and facilities in the country.

"Our Government has injected GY$200 million into the health sector, but often children have to be sent overseas for treatment of heart diseases and cancer which costs thousands of dollars. We often invite teams of doctors to come to Guyana, hold clinics for children and adults, do surgery free, train local doctors besides advising us on community awareness and educational programme," she said.

The fund runs an eye care programme for children who can't afford eye tests, glasses, medicines and surgery. It has also organised clinics in the fields of neurosurgery, plastic surgery, neurology and most recently cardiology.

The First Lady's trip to New York helped achieve linkages with several major teaching hospitals, including New York University, St Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Centre, Mount Sinai, Long Island Jewish, Jamaica County Hospital, Columbia University Harlem Hospital Centre and Suny Downstate Hospital. She sensitised them on the plight of the sick and poor children in Guyana requesting them to treat cases on a charitable basis.

"The response was great and we are trying to establish similar linkages in the UK and Canada with hospitals and medical schools specialising in oncology, hematology, cardiac, cancer, orthopedic neuro-surgery, plastic surgery, burns, HIV/Aids care and emergency medicine."

Thanks to her dedicated service, Kids First Fund has become self-financing but has to embark on frequent fund raisers.

The bills for leukaemia patients sent to Trinidad run to millions of Guyana dollars.

"If leukaemia and other drugs could be sourced free, this would reduce the hospital bills tremendously. We have tied up with Larparkan, Global Shipping in New York, Crete Shipping, Europe, West Indies Lines (UK) Ltd, CS World Cargo Ltd, and JJ Shipping in the UK to send medicines and other equipment free," she said.

"This helps anyone who wishes to support us by donating clothes, books, toys, medicines at no cost to them. We are also asking major drugs manufacturers to supply free medicines. The US arm of Kids First will be launched shortly with supporting groups in Toronto and the UK. Each group will be a registered charity in their own right with similar linkages. They will be responsible for maintaining existing links, establishing new ones, fund raising, recruiting doctors and medical personnel, also co-ordinating the medical teams visits to Guyana," she said.

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