Community relations officer at the Jamaican High Commission in London, Delores Cooper, last week handed over the cheque to Chain of Hope executive director, Emma Scanlan, on behalf of Jamaica Society Leeds. The presentation was made at the high commission.

Part proceeds fund

The funds are part proceeds from Jamaica Society Leeds' annual summer ball. Each year, the group raises funds for charities that support Jamaica.

Chain of Hope, which was founded in the United Kingdom in 1995, assists with surgery for children in developing countries and also assists with equipment and training for cardiac surgeons and other medical professionals.

The charity has been visiting Jamaica since 1996, when it started sending volunteer medical teams to the University Hospital of the West Indies to treat children suffering from heart disease. These teams were led by the Chain of Hope's president and founder, Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, who has had a long relationship with the island, and worked in Jamaica in the 1960s.

Scanlan said that, during the charity's most recent mission to Jamaica in October, some 19 children received heart surgeries.

She said that working with Chain of Hope Jamaica, which is headed by Dr Charmaine Scott, an additional 51 surgeries were performed. Another mission is set for March 2009, Scanlan said.

With the support of the Jamaican High Commission, the Jamaican community in London, over the last five years, has provided millions in financial support to Chain of Hope, to assist the organisation in carrying out its work in Jamaica.

- JIS