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29 March 2024

Tragedy-struck family starts 'heart' charity

Merlin (Supplied)

Published
By VM Sathish

Merlin Jalaludeen was just 14 years old when she was knocked down by a vehicle in Dubai while returning home after collecting money from friends and neighbours for a charity.

The former student of Indian High School, Dubai, struggled for life for 56 days before succumbing to injuries. This accident happened in January 1997. Now fourteen years after her tragic death, her family is starting a charity project called "Heart Beats" to help heart surgery of 100 poor patients selected from the UAE, Gulf and India. Merlin Foundation is the charity organisation started in her name.

Says K Jalaal, chairman of Merlin Foundation and managing director of the Delta group, Dubai, said about his daughter: “Merlin was the best and most active of my four children born and brought up in the UAE. We have been saddened by the unfortunate road accident that killed my daughter.  She met with the accident after she volunteered to do some charity work. Now, in her memory, we are planning to help heart surgery of 100 poor patients who cannot afford costly heart treatments.”

Merlin was knocked down by a vehicle driven by a Pakistani driver who worked for an Arab family and was on ventilator for 56 days. “She succumbed to her injuries and died after remaining in coma for 56 days.” Merlin's family has been living in the UAE for about 35 years.  The five-member family remembers Merlin by vising her grave in Dubai every year and conducting special prayers for her.

“We decided to do a charity project to remember our daughter who was keen on charity. We thought of doing the Heart Beats project because of her unfulfilled interest in charity,” said Jalal. Merlin is survived by her father, mother Nelifor and their elder and younger daughters Molly and  Monisha respectively. “We pardoned the Pakistani driver because his father was ill and it was a humanitarian gesture on the part of our family,” he added. Jalal’s youngest son is now 18 years old and his eldest daughter is 32. “If Merlin was alive, she would have been 28 now. We miss her a lot,” he added.

Many poor heart patients cannot afford heart surgery which  costs between Rs100,000 to Rs500,000. “We will identify eligible patients from the Gulf and India through a special screening committee headed by well-known heart surgeon Dr G Vijayaraghavan from KIMS (Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences). Many poor patients die because they cannot afford to undergo expensive heart surgery. The family believes Merlin will live through the revived hearts of these poor patients, who may live between 10 to 18 years after surgery. Already, 600 applications from potential beneficiaries have been received by the screening committee," Jalal said.