Messi meets patients from Save a Child’s Heart
In Tel Aviv, iconic football superstar Lionel Messi met a group of children from Senegal, Ethiopia and Zanzibar who had come to Israel for life-saving heart surgery.
Sylvan Adams and Lionel Messi with some of the children
The Canadian-Israeli philanthropist and businessman, Sylvan Adams, the man behind “Save A Child’s Heart”, brought the children with him to the Tel Aviv Hilton to meet Lionel Messi and the rest of the Argentina football team stars.
The players paused from their dinner in the hotel dining room, in order to hear an overview of “Save A Child’s Heart”, which brings children to Israel from across the world, including Africa, for life-changing heart surgery at Wolfson Hospital. This week, “Save a Child’s Heart” is working alongside doctors in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to perform life-saving heart surgery and catheterizations for an expected group of 30 children as part of Mission Ethiopia. To date, “Save A Child’s Heart” has treated more than 5,000 children from 62 countries. The Argentinian players gave enthusiastic applause and met some of the brave children awaiting surgery at the Wolfson Centre in Holon.
The children received footballs and Argentina shirts signed by the players.
Argentina is playing Uruguay in Tel Aviv tonight [Monday]. Ther Argentinian star and will face Uruguay star Luis Suarez. Both superstars play for Spanish club Barcelona.
Sylvan Adams said: “The Jewish People works to save people from across the world. I am proud to lead, alongside the best Israeli medical professionals, this extraordinary project of life-saving cardiac surgery.”
