Hearing healthcare practice celebrates ten years association with Kenyan school for deaf

This coming September, South East Hearing Care Centres, who have a centre in Horsham, will be making their yearly visit to the school, to support the free ear clinic for the local community and are proud to confirm this involvement as a long-term commitment.

Reverend Muhoro School for the Deaf is in the remote Mukurewe-ini district on the slopes of Mount Kenya.

It was founded in 1993 with just ten deaf boys and has grown substantially to now cater for over 300 hearing impaired boys and girls, most of whom are profoundly deaf.

The school is unique in also educating approximately 100 able hearing children who are paired with the deaf students. This encourages the hearing impaired to retain powers of speech, the able hearing students to learn how to sign and understand how to interact with someone with a disability.

With some recent acquisition of adjoining land, the school is about to expand again with the prospect of more dormitories being built, once funding has been raised.

Robert Davies, Managing Director of South East Hearing Care Centres, first heard about the Reverend Muhoro School for the Deaf in 2002, when he met the district’s MP Mutahi Kagwe at a charity event in the UK. He was told that with no welfare system and limited state funding, the school was heavily dependent on charitable support.

Robert said, “When I learnt about the wonderful work – and the pressing needs – of the school, I was delighted to help and have since made numerable visits and throughout, had the support of our manufacturing colleagues in donating the diagnostic and hearing aid equipment, which has been magnificent.

“We have taken hearing aids from all manufacturers like Phonak, teaching aids and ear moulds from Starkey, GN Resound testing equipment, an Oticon Otoscope and batteries from Rayovac.”

A further association has been made with the Priory Specialist Sports College in Portsmouth, who donate a wealth of sports equipment which South East Hearing Care Centres take on their visits. Recently, South East Hearing Care Centres took part in some fundraising with them, which raised enough money to sponsor two students for a full year’s education, including boarding, uniform, food and educational fees.

Along with the companies within South East Hearing Care Centres, the generous support of the manufacturers, colleagues, patient donations and some Rotary clubs, none of this would be possible. South East Hearing Care Centres would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to them all.

They would also like to thank Siemens for kindly donating a unity diagnostic and verification piece of equipment and to Widex for donating supplies, which will be taken out on this year’s visit.

Should you wish to donate towards this worthwhile cause, please call 01403 218863 or pop into our consulting rooms at 20-22 Bishopric, or into any of our partner practices, by visiting www.hearingcarecentres.co.uk for your nearest centre.