Years ago, Roelien Kok and Ghada Shahin founded the "Heart for Yemen" Charity, to aid in cardiac surgery. After a successful mission in Yemen, the Charity was founded but due to the civil war in Yemen, they had to stop their work. Fortunately, thanks to the Friends of the Netherlands-Egypt Foundation and the ZGT Overseas Foundation, they were able to continue their work in Egypt. Almost 15 years later, " Heart for Yemen" has been given a new name and they tackle new projects with ambition, energy and enthousiasm.
Heart for Humane Investment (H4HI) is a foundation that provides high-end free care to patients in developing countries who cannot afford it themselves. The focus is on heart operations which are accessible to anyone in our countries in Europe but can make a big difference to people in developing countries where heart disease is common and the need for surgical intervention is urgent.
H4HI's mission is to provide high-quality medical care to underprivileged communities around the world, with a special focus on Egypt.
We strive to increase access to care for all and for this purpose we develop educational and prevention programs.
In addition, with our work, we want to improve the quality of care at the local level in cooperation with the local health care staff.
Through our contacts in disadvantaged areas and the network within the health care system that we have built up throughout the years, we want to use our knowledge and experience to offer even more care in various specialties in addition to heart and lung surgery and interventional cardiology.
H4HI put together teams that are sent several times a year to areas where (extra) medical support and education is needed. The necessity stems from inequality and an undesired socio-economic situation. In this way we aim to create and strengthen accessible care in disadvantaged areas. We provide training and transfer our knowledge and skills to local professionals to promote and stimulate self-reliance.
The vision of H4HI aims to contribute to a world in which all people, regardless of their socio-economic background, have access to high quality care and in which the development of knowledge is stimulated. We strive to create sustainable change through collaboration with local communities, health services, universities, and other relevant stakeholders. Creating contacts with colleagues in Egypt and other developing countries is easy. In the relatively small world of cardiac surgery, many individuals know each other from congresses, international exchanges, social networks, and of course through social media. Fortunately, our team effort is now well-known in various heart centers in Egypt.
Contact leggen met collega’s in ontwikkelingslanden is eenvoudig. In de kleine wereld van hartchirurgie kennen velen elkaar van congressen, internationale uitwisselingen, sociale netwerken, en natuurlijk de social media. Gelukkig hebben we nu bekendheid in diverse hartcentra in Egypte.