“So the world may hear”

CITY of BALANGA, Bataan – Sunday, November 22, 2015 is the day that will forever leave a lasting imprint on the lives of three hundred forty five (345) Bataeños.

Yesterday, 345 hearing impaired Bataeños whose ages range from 3 to 88 were among the beneficiaries of free hearing aids from the Starkey Hearing Foundation.

Fourteen technical staff from the Provincial Health Office led by PHO head, Dr. Rosanna Buccahan accompanied the 345 beneficiaries to Diwa ng Tarlac in Tarlac City for the fitting of hearing aids. No less than Bataan Governor, Abet S. Garcia was also present to witness such laudable undertaking.

The PHO, in coordination with the local government units (LGUs), DSWD and DepEd carefully screened the beneficiaries who passed thru 3 phases, namely: Phase 1- screening (PHO staff were trained by Starkey Foundation for this), phase 2- fitting (this was done yesterday) and phase 3 – after care (Starkey will come to Bataan to find out if the beneficiaries are having problems with their hearing aids).

Starkey Hearing Foundation (SHF) is an organization based in the United States founded by William (Bill) F. Austin in 1984, on his vision – “so the world may hear” and based on a simple premise: “Alone we can’t do much, together we can change the world.”

During yesterday’s activity, the founder. Mr. Bill Austin and his wife were there to oversee the fitting of hearing aids to beneficiaries.

With the help of thousands of supporters, SHF has provided more than 1.8 million hearing aids and care to people in need. Their goal is to pursue their mission with commitment so that future generations can live in a world with more caring and peace.

For the year 2015, SHF has chosen Tarlac and Bataan (for the first time) as the beneficiaries in the Philippines.