Current

Dear Tian and the members of Sani Round Table,

It is with enormous gratitude that we write to you. On the 5th of November we took David Mokoena (our employee) to Heidi at the Ear Institute in Pietermaritzburg where she fitted David with his new hearing aid. He was treated royally by their team…. even served a ‘Cappuccino’! We wish you could see the smile on his face when he was able to hear. What joy!
The work and service you provide for our community is outstanding and we are indeed indebted to you for helping David.

May you be richly blessed in all your endeavours. Thank you. Kind regards,

Dave, Sue & Andrew Barnett

Life before the implant

Before receiving a cochlear implant in 2023, Charlton faced daily challenges in mainstream school, at the Pebbles Project After-School Club, and at home. He had severe challenges in the classroom where he would act out in aggression towards his peers and educator. He did not respond to all instructions that were given to him and often needed to be reprimanded for doing the wrong thing during activities. His academic progress reports were poor as he achieved low marks and showed no interest in learning and participating.

Life after the implant

Since receiving his cochlear implant at the age of 7, Charlton has gone from strength to strength. He was transferred to a mainstream public school where staff are specifically trained to facilitate learning to children with hearing impairments. He receives support from his family members as well as from the staff at Pebbles Project. His attitude towards schooling is very positive and he looks forward to attending school. He is not receiving any assessment concessions and functioning alongside his peers in the classroom. His behavior at school is described as well-mannered and adaptable. His academic progress reports now reveal codes of 6’s and 7’s (highest achievements). He also does not present with any indications of anxiety, fear or emotional disturbances and he is currently thriving in his environments.

At the beginning of this year, we received the good news that several cardboard boxes of used hearing aids were ready for collection from Messrs. Neuroth in Zug.
On 30 January we collected 4 cardboard boxes and on Thursday 1 February we sorted and cleaned them with great enthusiasm and discovered that the delivery contained, in addition to cleaning equipment, devices for charging hearing aids, cases and boxes for hearing aids, etc., around 1200 hearing aids in good condition and ready for reuse.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Neuroth for their many years of support. As every single hearing aid counts, we would also like to thank the many people who send us used hearing aids.
We are now looking forward to forwarding the many hearing aids to South Africa as soon as possible.
Esther & Beat Berger

We are always pleased to get feedback on our actions out of Southern Africa. How happy a girl is with her used hearing aid, you can see yourself right away. The English version of the Lets Hear Foundation South Africa annual report can be found Jahresbericht von Let’s Hear Foundation in Südafrika here.

Liam (8 years old) and Sebastian (11 years old) suffer from Perrault syndrome. Perrault syndrome is a very rare congenital disorder that results in sensorineural hearing loss.

Thanks to donations received from the Let’s Hear Foundation Switzerland, our sister organisation, the Let’s Hear Foundation in South Africa, was able to order, fit and give them 2 new hearing aids as a Christmas present! Normally, the Let’s Hear Foundation provides used, cleaned and refurbished hearing aids. In this case, however, due to the neurological condition of both boys and because they need a very specific type, 2 new hearing aids were given as an exception!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who donated used hearing aids and/or donated money.

We at the Let’s Hear Foundation Switzerland and Let’s Hear Foundation South Africa wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy, successful and healthy New Year!