Hi there!

My name is Nuria and I have just found out about OHI during my holidays in Tonga, as at the moment, a medical team from Australian has come for 3 weeks, to check around 150 cardiac patients and have surgery in some of them.

South-East of Fiji, the 176 scattered islands of the Kingdom of Tonga are home to just over 100,000 people. With such a small population, health services are basic and there is little access to life-saving heart surgery.

Back in 1986, due to desperate need, Open Heart International sent the first ever mobile cardiac surgical team to Tonga. Since then, we have visited 7 times and performed more than 170 operations. Every two years, a team of over 40 Australian medical volunteers land in the capital Nuku’alofa. Here they work with the local medical team at Vaiola Hospital to change the lives of dozens of Tongans.

With each visit, a talented mix of medical, surgical, nursing and allied health professionals dedicate their time, energy and expertise for free. Along with this priceless human capital, we also arrange the medical consumables, supplies and equipment needed to provide world-class heart surgery.

Almost 40% of the Tongan population are under 14 years old and many of our patients are children. Congenital heart disease, or birth defects of the heart, account for roughly half of the surgical load in Tonga. These operations are rewarding: children are cured, sent home to their families with the prospect of a normal life.

The other half of our surgery is a consequence of rheumatic heart disease. While prevention programs are now operating in Tonga, rheumatic heart disease remains endemic due to poor living conditions and overcrowding. Left untreated, it can damage the heart valves and cause heart failure in young adults.

Along with life-saving surgery, they provide invaluable education and training for the local medical team. Formal and informal education sessions are used to upskill the local workforce and improve the healthcare system for the future.

Ultimately, their work in Tonga aims to minimise the number of emergency overseas referrals, usually to New Zealand, which cause an enormous drain on already limited health resources. Tonga is likely to always need help with cardiac services. With your donation, we can continue to be there for the people of Tonga.

About Open Heart International

Despite what you hear and read in the media, our health system is pretty good in comparision to some countries around the world. That's why I have decided to fundraise for Open Heart International.

Open Heart International has been coordinating projects since 1986. In excess of over 140 visits to developing countries have been coordinated and over 5,000 lives have been transformed

By supporting this important work, you are providing much needed funds to support the project costs including supplies, travel expenses, and equipment. Taking large teams and lots of equipment around the world doesn't come cheaply, so every single piece of support will help make a difference.

By bring modern surgery, training, equipment, and community education to where they are needed most, we're not just saving lives today, we're transforming a whole community's ability to save lives ongoing. And that's one of the most valuable gifts we can possibly give to other human beings.

To donate, simply click on the Donate Now button.  Your donation is secure, and you will receive your tax deductible receipt via email instantly.

Still need convincing? Here's a couple of extra reasons why Open Heart International is great choice for your donation:

Your Donation lasts long after you give it. We don't believe in one-off miracle cures - instead we commit to long-term community-wide change. Our programs delivery lifesaving operations, as well as local medical training, so your impact lives long after a project ends.

We're powered by volunteers. For over 30 years our projects have been run by volunteers – it is not uncommon for over 300 volunteers to be deployed helping hundreds and hundreds of patients across the world each year.  Your donation is definitely reaching those in need.

Decades of delivery. We've been building capacity in communities in needs since 1986. In that time we've not only helped countless people across the globe, we've honed our business side to stretch every donations as far as possible.