WorldServe MEDIA RELEASE: FEBRUARY 4, 2010
WorldServe partners with Starkey Hearing Foundation to help African children hear again
President John Bongiorno and photojournalist Doug Pitt join the Starkey Hearing Foundation to identify thousands of children to receive free hearing aids
KANSAS CITY, MO, USA – WorldServe president John Bongiorno and photojournalist Doug Pitt, brother of actor Brad Pitt, are joining with the Starkey Hearing Foundation to help children receive the gift of better hearing. The two are participating in the Starkey Hearing Foundation’s Nairobi mission to distribute hearing aids in Nairobi, Kenya, February 8-10. This particular trip will serve 600 children, part of Starkey Hearing Foundation’s goal to help thousands of hearing-impaired children on the continent of Africa.
Starkey Hearing Foundation invited WorldServe on the trip in order to witness the power of improved hearing and to help the Starkey Hearing Foundation identify needy children for future missions. With WorldServe’s experience providing clean water and other poverty interventions through community and faith-based partners in East Africa, the organization is well positioned to identify communities with the greatest need.
The team traveling to Nairobi consists of 14 people, including Starkey Hearing Foundation founders Bill and Tani Austin and Minnesota business leaders and philanthropists Dr. Glen Nelson and Marilyn Carlson-Nelson. The team will perform personal fittings for 600 patients, mostly children. Patients were identified, screened and started a six-step medical preparation process with the help of local volunteers from the University of Nairobi and Operation Eardrop.
The team will meet with Kenya’s Minister of Information and Communications, Hon. Samuel Poghisio and Rwanda’s Minster of Education, Dr. Charles Murigande. WorldServe will use its extensive network to help identify hearing-impaired children in Tanzania and Rwanda for future hearing aid distributions.
According to the Starkey Hearing Foundation, hearing facilitates the exchange of thoughts, ideas and feelings, and forms the building blocks of human relations.
Hearing is a gift most of us take for granted every day, said John Bongiorno. We are inspired by Bill and Tani Austin and the Starkey Hearing Foundation’s tireless efforts to give the gift of better hearing. Especially in places like sub-Saharan Africa where ear canal hygiene is a major problem and can lead to loss of hearing for far too many children and adults, this group is making a tremendous difference.
About WorldServe:
Based in Springfield, Missouri, WorldServe International is a relief and development organization with a special focus on providing clean water and sanitation. The organization also develops community Life Centers that combat poverty in seven strategic ways. For more information, visit www.worldserveintl.org.
About Starkey Hearing Foundation:
Based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, the Starkey Hearing Foundation was established by Starkey Laboratories co-founders William and Tani Austin to bring the gift of better hearing to people in need. The foundation delivers about 100,000 hearing aids each year. For more information, visit starkeyhearingfoundation.org.
