HEART SURGEON IN BLOG MARATHON, RAISES FUNDS FOR CHILDREN'S OPERATIONS Indian heart surgeon Dr.Mani Sivasubramanian is joining a worldwide 24-hour marathon of weblogging on July 24th to raise awareness and funds to sponsor life-saving operations for children from poor families born with congenital heart defects. The money raised will be used to fund heart surgery for children at the Narayana Hrudayalaya Institute of Cardiac Sciences in Bangalore, one of the largest heart hospitals in India performing over 4000 operations every year. "Heart surgery in India costs as little as $3,000 - but many families can't even afford this" said Dr.Mani. The blog marathon will help raise awareness about the devastating problem of heart birth defects that claim thousands of young lives every year. 7 of every 1000 children are born with congenital heart defects, making it the most common birth defect. "Few people realize more babies are born with congenital heart defects than with Spina Bifida, Down's syndrome and hearing loss," says Dr.Mani. "In India, lack of awareness and/or financial resources often prevent recognition or timely treatment." The event co-ordinated by Project Blog is a revolutionary Internet charity drive involving over one hundred bloggers who will update their web logs regularly over a 24 hour period to raise money for different charities. Pledges are gathered from friends, family, fellow webloggers, and occasionally total strangers. Each sponsors a blogger just as they might sponsor someone in a walk-a-thon. Other charities being supported by participants at the blog marathon include Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International, and the Associate for International Cancer Research. For some, staying awake is enough of a challenge. But others take the opportunity to entertain their audiences with special projects. Dr.Mani's blog called "REMARKABLY PURPLE SPOTS" will carry the theme "Reach and Relate - Building online relationships on the 'impersonal' Internet". The Blog Marathon is a celebration of the capabilities of the World Wide Web; for a single day it unites a decentralized mass of participants, sponsors, viewers, and charities to work towards a common goal of affecting change in the world. It is definitely something to tell your friends about. For more details and to contribute to Dr.Mani's Heart Kids Blog Marathon, visit his website at http://www.CHDinfo.com/chdaware/blogathon.htm - 30 - EDITORS NOTE: Contact Dr.Mani Sivasubramanian at (+91) 44 2616 4046 or via email to drmani@vsnl.com for more information about the Heart Kids Blog Marathon. |