PRESS RELEASE
The life-saving humanitarian operation organized by the Fondazione InSé Onlus led by Iole Cisnetto has been successfully accomplished. Four sick children from the Kimbondo Pediatric Hospital (Democratic Republic of Congo) have landed on an Air Force aircraft and have been transported to Genoa’s Gaslini Hospital and to Rome’s Sant’Eugenio Hospital to receive the necessary treatment.
Rome-Kinshasa-Rome, the victory of hope. The life-saving operation to bring four sick African children to Italy has been successfully accomplished. The official aircraft made available by the Government at the request of the newly appointed Italian Ambassador Kinshasa, Massimiliano D’Antuono, in cooperation with the Air Force, took off from Africa this morning and landed on 1 August in Italy, first in Genoa and then in Rome. Onboard the aircraft were four Congolese children Vittorio (15 months), Daniel (4 years), Cordie (9 years) and Nathalie (14 years), who were staying at the Pediatric Hospital in Kimbondo, at approximately 35 km from Kinshasa, who will now receive the specialist medical care that their Country is unable to offer them. The first two children suffer from a severe form of cardiopathy, with baby Vittorio’s life at risk, while the two girls have their whole bodies covered by severe burns. The aircraft first landed in Genoa to drop off Vittorio and Daniel, who were taken by ambulance to the Gaslini Hospital, where they will undergo surgery, and then went on to Rome, where Cordie and Nathalie will be hospitalized at the Sant’Eugenio Hospital. On the aircraft, the children were accompanied by Iole Cisnetto, the president of the Fondazione InSé Onlus, who personally followed all the steps of this life-saving mission, Father Ugo Rios, the founder of the Pediatric Foundation of Kimbondo, and Doctor Emanuele Ausili, a pediatrician at the Policlinico Gemelli of Rome and president of the La Terrazza dell’Infanzia Association which is also a sponsor of the Kimbondo Pediatric Hospital. Fondazione InSé, La Terrazza dell’Infanzia and other associations launched the “Hub for Kimbondo” network with the aim of improving the coordination of humanitarian initiatives.
The two children suffering from a heart condition will be operated at the Gaslini Hospital by Dr. Lucio Zannini and his team. The Regional Council of Liguria, through its Vice President and Councillor for Health, Claudio Montaldo, financed all the expenses. The two girls suffering from severe burns will be treated in the Reconstructive Surgery Department of Rome’s Sant’Eugenio Hospital by a team led by Prof. Baiocco. The cost of these two operations have been financed by Fondazione InSé Onlus directly or through private donations.
The success of this “life-saving” humanitarian mission proves that in operations such as these it is essential to combine solidarity and organizational efficiency. This is precisely one of the points of strength of the Fondazione InSé Onlus, which for years has been supporting the Kimbondo Pediatric Foundation, created in 1989 by Father Hugo Rios and Doctor Laura Perna, now ninety-five years old, to offer shelter to sick, abandoned, orphan or destitute children in order to provide them with medical and socio-cultural assistance. Today the Hospital hosts almost 1000 children and has become the free medical facility of reference for the whole of Kinshasa.