There is nothing worse for parents than discovering that their offspring suffer from a life-threatening disease or condition. Well, actually there is: if the affliction in question cannot be treated in the country where they live and they cannot afford the considerable cost involved in sending their child abroad. It would be fair to say that’s about as close to the nadir of parental grief as one can get.

Healthcare and facilities in Mauritius have improved greatly over the past couple of decades. Yet there are still some diseases that require surgical treatment in countries that are more medically advanced. That’s where the Society in Aid to Children Inoperable in Mauritius (SACIM) comes in.

Since its creation in 1967, SACIM has sent over 640 children to countries like India, France, Switzerland, South Africa and Australia to receive specialist help for everything from heart disease to severe congenital hip dislocation. This non-governmental organization was founded by Red Cross president, Patsy Rowntree, the head of Social Security, Mr Jomadar and a pediatrician, Dr Julia Maigrot, who at the time saw the need to establish a system that could collect funds and organize for needy children to be sent abroad for medical assistance.

When Patsy Rowntree was president of the Red Cross, she was constantly being approached by parents whose kids required treatment abroad. There was a need to make sure that the children went to the right places for help”, explains Dr Julia Maigrot. SACIM’s ability to mobilize resources for the most urgent cases is amazing. In one instance, it was able to have the child off and away within four days of being brought to them. Naturally, the usual time period is slightly lengthier especially with countries becoming increasingly fickle about the allocation of visas.

Children are referred to SACIM by their treating doctor who certifies that they suffer from a condition that cannot be operated on here. In the 1960s and 1970s, the priority was for children who were afflicted by heart disease as Mauritius was not yet ready to operate them. There was a year in the 1970s, Dr Julia Maigrot recalls, when SACIM sent 39 children abroad. With the improvement of medical services in Mauritius, SACIM has less of a struggle to lead on the heart front. For example, SACIM has sent seven children overseas since the beginning of the year, a far cry from the urgency of the 1970s.

<B>Alive and healthy today</B>

One of the cases that Dr Maigrot recalls the most distinctly is that of the Siamese twins, two boys who were joined at the chest and needed to be sent to Cape Town for an operation. “We needed to raise enormous funds very quickly”, she reminisces. As is the norm in these dramas, only one child survived the ordeal. He is alive and healthy today.

Although there has been a decline in cases necessitating help abroad, the funds required to assist a child nowadays are considerable. An increase in the price of airfares and medical treatment has made each patient “more expensive”. Thankfully, SACIM has an established reputation and network.

<B>Good reputation and network</B>

A hospital in Bangalore, India, where SACIM sends many of its heart cases charges the organization very reasonable prices. The national carrier, Air Mauritius, usually lets the kids fly for free and the mother for half the normal fare.

SACIM also boasts very dynamic branches in Australia. Whether it be COMMSSA in Perth or SACIM Victoria in Melbourne, Dr Julia Maigrot knows she can rely on “the wonderful groups of Mauritians who raise funds, approach hospitals and look after the children”.

Gathering funds, of course, is one the organization’s biggest preoccupations. SACIM depends mainly on contributions from individuals and firms. When it sends a child abroad, it also contacts the parent’s employer to enquire as to whether the latter would care to donate to the society on that occasion. If the parents aren’t too poor, they will also be asked to donate something, usually a month’s salary.

SACIM will be holding its flag day over the last weekend of November and it is certain that its dedicated team of full-time employees and volunteers should be cheered as much as the cause they have been championing for decades.