Hearing the world for the first time
A new partnership between Starkey Hearing Institute and Special Olympics Africa could bring the gift of hearing to children and adults with intellectual disabilities
Ibra Kebe Sarr was a kind and quiet boy, wrapped in a world of silence. Born in Senegal, a country in west Africa, his family lives far from the nation’s capital in Dakar.
Born with an intellectual disability, he was unable to communicate his needs, and his mother had not thought to take him for a hearing test. Hearing loss can greatly affect the ability to speak, learn, and interact with others.
A Healthy Hearing provided by Special Olympics Senegal identified Ibra’s profound hearing impairment. By connecting athletes with hearing specialists in their home communities, Healthy Hearing gives the opportunity to identify serious conditions that might never be diagnosed or treated.
But without access to the hearing professionals of a worldwide provider network, Special Olympics athletes would never receive the highest quality of care available, or any care at all.
Well aware of these stark global realities, Chalese Buttars, the Director of International Programs at the Starkey Hearing Foundation in Washington, D.C. got to hear of Adra’s case, and connected Special Olympics Senegal with Starkey Hearing Foundation’s Country Coordinator for Senegal, Malick Dieye.
National Director of Special Olympics Senegal, Rajah Diouri Sy, and her team were thrilled to hear that there could be help for Ibra, and immediately arranged to help him and his mother travel to Dakar.
The morning they arrived at the Starkey Foundation, was a great moment for him and his mother.
They had never known that the gift and opportunity to hear the world was something that was medically possible for Ibra. His smile says it all. Speaking on behalf of Special Olympics Senegal, Rajah wrote to Starkey Foundation saying:
“Thank you to all of you for giving him this huge opportunity to hear the world. You are part of the Inclusion Revolution.”
