PENANG, Fri – Four Cambodian children with congenital hear disease arrived here yesterday with the hope for a chance to lead normal lives.

They are nine-month-old baby boy Pun Chea, five-year-old Rean Thavleak, nine-year-old Van Sonoy and 13-year-old Lam Phay.

They were accompanied by their mothers Chun Mom, 42, Such Samphors, 33, Mai Phorn, 38, and Ing Meuy, 49, together with a doctor and a nurse.

The four children are the first batch of 45 children from the Angkor Hospital for Children who will undergo corrective heart surgery at the Penang Adventist Hospital under the Gift of Life Programme 2001.

The 45 were among 76 children screened by a PAJ team which visited Siem Reap last February in response to a call for help from the AHP.

Lam Phay and Pun Chea suffer from Ventricular Septal Defect while Rean Thavleak, Atrial Septal Defect and Van Sonoy, Pulmonary Stenosis condition. They will be operated on next week.

They were flown on a mercy flight from siem Reap to Kuala Lumpur by Royal Air Cambodge, the main sponsor of the Gift of Life 2001 programme, which has committed US $ 100,000 (RM380,000) worth of air tickets for the international effort under the auspices of Rotary International.

Rotary International has committed US$100,000 to the programme. IT is giving US$2,000 to fund the US$5,000 surgery cost of children with heart problems.

The four children were received on arrival at the Bayan Lepas International Airport by PAH president and chief executive officer Teddric Mohr, Rotary Club of Penang president Nutan Shah and its community service director Michael Chen.

Also present was State People’s Progressive Party chairman Datuk Dr J. Logabala Mohan who presented hampers of goodies for the children during their stay here.

Speaking at a Press conference later, Mohr said the Gift of Life Programme was available to all children with heart ailments irrespective of race, religion or nationality.

He said of three Malaysian children who had been accepted into the programme earlier this year, a two-year-old boy named Ng Yong Seng had successfully undergone corrective heart surgery on April 23.

Another a six-year-old girl, Vibarjita Kumaramanivel, is scheduled to undergo surgery on Wednesday while the third, Hepshibah Jayabalan, aged three-and-a-half, is to have her operation next month.

Meanwhile Nutan, in appealing for public donations, said more money was needed to fund the Gift of Life Programme Donations, which are tax-exempted, should be sent to the Rotary Club of Penang, Gift of Life 2 Account, c/o 7 Jalan Kelawai, 10250 Penang.

For further details, call Lim Chooi Eng at 2266331 or 2261133.