Just a few meters from an Israeli hospital, there's a house unlike any other. Here, all languages are spoken, all flags are flown, but there's only one religion: saving children. The Save A Child's Heart house is much more than a refuge; it's a place where magic happens. In addition to the hospital dedicated to treating pediatric heart conditions, this space is a haven for children, accompanied by nurses and their parents, where they can thrive during their treatment.

It's a space suspended between science and humanity, where the organization's public relations officer and spokesperson, Daniel Campos, and his team are making pediatric cardiology an act of peace. He was tasked with briefing the ten or so journalists from seven French-speaking African countries on the organization's foundation and impact, which since its inception has treated more than 8,500 children from 75 countries.

The story begins more than three decades ago in the Netanya apartment of Dr. Ami Cohen's parents. In 1995, this visionary cardiologist welcomed his first young patients into the family living room, surrounded by volunteer nurses. The first child had come from Ethiopia. There was nothing there, except a conviction: no child should die because they were born in the wrong place.

When Dr. Cohen died in 2021 while attempting to climb Kilimanjaro, his friends and colleagues refused to let the humanitarian project end and decided to continue the mission. Today, the NGO supports 300 to 350 children each year.

More than a treatment, a family

Today, Save A Child's Heart welcomes children from Rwanda, Senegal, Iraq, Ethiopia, Eastern Europe, and "even the Palestinian territories," we are told. According to Mr. Campos, one in every hundred children is born with a heart defect. And in some countries, a simple infection, if left untreated due to a lack of antibiotics, can develop into acquired heart disease.

As a result, some patients can stay for years for treatment. And when the stay is long, the whole family is taken care of: the mother, the father who comes once a year, sometimes even the grandmother. "The goal is for them to feel at home," explains the manager.

In the courtyard, volunteers play with the children. They treat them, comfort them, and laugh. They perform tracheotomies so the little ones can breathe. Parents, especially mothers, participate in the games and provide basic care so they can ensure follow-up care once they return home.

More than 150 trained doctors

Save A Child's Heart's ultimate mission isn't limited to Tel Aviv. It extends to Dakar, Kigali, and Addis Ababa. "Our goal is to empower African countries to treat these heart conditions themselves. And one day, it should no longer be necessary to send children abroad," the practitioners hope.

To date, more than 150 doctors have already trained in Israel and returned home to serve and share their expertise. "Give a fish, feed it for a day. Teach a fish, feed it for a lifetime," says Dr. Campos, emphasizing that the training is slow and demanding because lives are at stake.

On the wall hang photos of Dr. Cohen and the first Ethiopian child treated. This house is filled with beautiful memories, like those of the Senegalese children Pierre Célestin Abraham Faye, treated in 2018 at the age of two , and Ndiaga Fall. The latter, born in 2005, was admitted to Israel several times to treat his Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect. At 14, he received treatment there and fulfilled his greatest dream of meeting football star Lionel Messi. And these are just the first pages. Hundreds more stories still resonate within these halls.

Because ultimately, Save A Child's Heart doesn't just heal hearts. It restores hope. And it proves that when a child breathes again, the whole of humanity beats stronger.