Audiologists send hearing aids Audiologists send hearing aids to one of the poorest countries in the world 

HAVANT Audiology centre recently donated over 80 hearing aids to the African Bible College Clinic in Lilongwe, Malawi. 

 

Specsavers Audiologist Ruth Avierinos organised this initiative, having spent two weeks volunteering at the clinic before she began working with the team in the Havant store. 

 

Ruth is the founder of a not-for-profit charity called Faith Ears. The goal of the non-profit is to help reduce the negative connotations associated to hearing aids in society by helping to reduce the stigma around them.  One of the ways this is done is through Hope Teddies, teddy bears that wear hearing aids mirroring the child with a hearing aid. Over 30 Hope teddies were donated.

 

Ruth was contacted by an Australian couple, Rebecca and Pete Bartlett, who are audiologists and founded a non-profit organisation called EARS. The couple and their children moved to Lilongwe, Malawi in 2010 and built a fully equipped hearing clinic and trained many locals to test and fit hearing aids.  This was done by starting a university within the capital city to train up audiologists as at that point in time there wasn’t an audiologist within the whole country. And developed an audiology degree course. 

 

Ruth was invited to be a guest lecturer and do practical audiology work, including fitting hearing aids on the outreach clinics.  When Specsavers Audiology director in Havant, Clive Harrod, contacted Ruth to work with them in their audiology department, she saw an opportunity to do more for the Malawi community.  The store had remaining hearing aids that were not going to be used, and Ruth still had contacts from the university in Malawi so was able to organise the donation. 

 

Malawi, in Southeastern Africa, is one of the poorest countries in the world. This means that good healthcare is difficult to attain, so this donation was a huge help to the college. 

 

Clive says: ‘We found the process of getting the hearing aids over to Malawi straightforward. 

‘Although it took a bit of time at customs, they were able to be used and fitted straightaway. 

‘We are so grateful to be in the position to have made this donation to the college. We not only look after the eyes and ears here in Havant but try to give back to other communities where we can. 

‘We would like to continue to support the charity, and if any of our neighbouring audiologists have hearing aids spare, please get in contact with me and we can organise sending them to Malawi.’

 

As electricity in Malawi is not reliable, they request battery operated hearing aids if possible.  

 

Anyone unable to visit the Specsavers Havant store unaccompanied due to disability or illness can receive care at home via a team of mobile opticians. The Specsavers home visits service covers more than 90% of the UK. 

For further information, call the store on 02382 553219 or visit https://www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/havant