DEAR FRIENDS-

The Global Foundation for Children with Hearing Loss was born out of an unassuming journey across Southeast Asia in 2008. I saw that limited teacher training, shortage of quality hearing aids, and general lack of awareness about hearing loss was having a detrimental effect on the livelihoods of thousands of deaf and hard of hearing children.  It was a stark contrast to my personal experience in the United States where expert teachers and resources are in ample supply.

I was born profoundly hard of hearing but use my voice to speak and my ears to listen.  I was amplified with hearing aids early in life, and was provided with all the professional support essential to my early childhood language development.  I was mainstreamed in kindergarten and went to regular neighborhood schools alongside my hearing peers for the rest of my academic career.  After earning a Masters degree, I embarked on a marketing career at Fortune 500 companies before starting down my own path as a freelance writer and marketing consultant.  I know that the success I’ve had in my life would not have been possible without the support that I received in my earliest years.   

Language acquisition lends itself to cognitive thought and the ability to communicate – essential elements for education and the foundation on which human potential is realized.  For too many of the world’s deaf and hard of hearing children, the cultivation of language is simply nonexistent.   

In places where these children do have a language, the quality of education available to them is low and the illiteracy rate is high.  Only about 10% of the world's deaf children receive any education at all, leaving few of these children with any hope of someday getting a job and becoming fully functioning members of society.    Combine these challenges with a shortage of medical and technological support and a general lack of societal understanding about hearing loss, and it becomes evident why most deaf and hard of hearing children in developing countries never have a chance to reach their full potential.  They can’t even get out of the gate.

During my travels, I felt compelled to help these young children growing up with hearing loss behind me have access to at least some of the resources and education that I was fortunate to have. 

The Global Foundation for Children with Hearing Loss is supported by a talented board of directors that includes experts in audiology, education, and speech language pathology who share my passion and energy for reversing these trends.  We’re working together with partners in the global community to implement sustainable teacher training workshops and hearing aid programs that will directly benefit hundreds of deaf and hard of hearing children. 

I never fail to get excited about what we’re doing.  We’ve got a pretty powerful mission.   If you’d like to join us in making a difference in the lives of deaf and hard of hearing children around the world, I would be honored to have your support.

Thank you for visiting us,

Paige Stringer                                                                                         Founder/ Executive Director