Fund raising telethon breaks record

An exciting 5-hour TV telethon, aired Friday night by the second Moroccan TV channel 2M, broke all records of sums to raise for building a center for the treatment of heart-disease-stricken children. More than 26 million dirhams ($ 2.3 million) were donated.

Organizers were seeking 20 million dirhams, necessary for the construction of the much-needed hospital. Towards the middle of the show, the sum raised was only at 2 million dirhams, when a generous Moroccan called 2M to donate 20 million.

The donator's call came immediately after a moving report on the suffering of 4-year-old Yasmine, who succumbed to her disease in France, where she courageously made the trip alone to be operated on in a hospital ran by a welfare association "chaine de l'espoir."

Little Yasmine returned home. in a coffin. "my daughter is dead. If only I could hold her in my arms, while she was dying," said Yasmine's bereaved mother, who appealed to Moroccan donors and authorities to donate money for the construction of a specialized hospital in Morocco.

Six children die everyday of heart diseases in Morocco, which counts 10,000 heart disease-stricken people, including 3,000 children.