Celebrating the Rainbow in Many a Dark Clouds

While most of us inspire to be this rainbow, the pressing demands of everyday life, compel us to focus on what we need to do in order to fulfil our main duties as parents, children, spouses’, employees, and the many other roles we play.

Our Founder Trustees Prema and Jyoti Sagar

Well, most of us.

And then there are souls who dedicate their lifetime to help others only possessed with a single unconditional mission – that no should have to go through what they did. That mission defines the essence of what they do every single day and of the Children’s Heart Foundation they have set up.

Our Founder Trustees, Prema and Jyoti Sagar visiting a child post treatment at our partner hospital

This month we celebrate our Founder Trustees and leaders Prema and Jyoti Sagar. Both stalwarts in their respective lines of work, they went through a personal tragic loss of having to lose their second born son, Sameer, to a Congenital Heart Defect over 2 decades ago. What started as an outlet for them to deal with their sense of loss, transformed into a mission and passion of giving back to society – The birth of Genesis Foundation, a children’s heart foundation that makes sure that no parent has to go through the pain of not knowing what to do or not have the funds to save their child’s life from a critical heart defect – NO ONE.

Given the senior po12sitions they both work in their respective lines of profession, it would have been extremely easy for them support donation for children as and when circumstances permitted, or they could have set up a children’s heart foundation and let it run it’s own course. But no, Prema and Jyoti have dedicated their lives to help other families and other children.

They are the soul of what the Foundation does every single day. Whether each one of us sees them every day or not, what we do every day is guided by their ethos, their vision, and their sense of making sure that we are doing what we need to in the best possible way.

Our Founder Trustee Prema with a child at Miot Hospital

The interest they take in each of our partner hospitals, the way they remember stories of the many children whose lives the children’s heart foundation has touched and the sparkle that brings to their eyes, their passion and excitement to keep growing, their judgement in what is important and worth chasing and what is not and overall their humility and selflessness leaves an indelible mark on the people who get the opportunity to interact with them.

At every single review meeting we are taught to question that what is it we can do to reach more children to help more families, how are we ensuring that we are not compromising on the quality of care we are giving to the children, what we can do to raise more donations for children so that we can save more lives? And that is the culture we all work in, where it has become a part of our DNA to do everything we can to save little hearts, where each one of us questions ourselves when we spend money which is not directly being used to treat a child – that how is this adding value to the larger purpose?

Our Founder Trustee, Jyoti Sagar wishing a child at Amrita Hospital, Kochi

Prema and Jyoti are the epitomes of great leaders, where they nudge and push each one of us to perform better, at each meeting they always remember to check in with each one of us about our personal lives. For some of us who have been struggling to play the balancing act, the guidance and support we get from them enables us to continue to work despite all our challenges. And as leaders they are able to instil the fire in each of us to do what we can to support the mission of the Foundation.

By setting up the Children’s Heart Foundation, Prema and Jyoti have given life a chance for thousands of children living with a heart defect across the country, have brought tears of joy and gratitude to so many parents who can now see their children get better, they have set an example of how one gives back to society selflessly. In doing so they have continued the legacy of their second born son, Sameer, whose heart continues to beat in the many hearts that have been saved till now and will continue to be saved.

Today and every day, our Genesis Foundation and beneficiaries will be Celebrating Our Founder Trustees, a power couple who really have their heart in the right place.