Ten years ago Executive Director, Paige Stringer, established the Global Foundation For Children With Hearing Loss for the purpose of helping teachers, therapists, and medical professionals in low and middle income countries develop the necessary skills and expertise to help young children who are deaf or hard of hearing learn to listen and speak.
Participants in the Global Foundation’s training programs become well equipped to serve the children and families in their care. They are also prepared to share their new knowledge with others, making our work repeatable and sustainable and ultimately benefiting an exponential number of children into the future.
Please check out our short video to see the impact of our work over the past decade.
Since the professionals in the Global Foundation’s training programs apply their new skills in their work with additional children and families over time, share their new knowledge with colleagues, and use their understanding and expertise to address gaps in care, even more children benefit. For example….
-A Vietnamese graduate of the Global Foundation’s training program established an early intervention school program for young children with hearing loss in a province where no such services previously existed. The school’s curriculum is based on the Global Foundation’s teachings and provides audiological, educational, and therapy services each year to over 70 children under 6 with hearing loss learning to listen and speak.
-Graduates of the Global Foundation’s audiology training program travel together on a regular basis to schools and early intervention programs for children with hearing loss in rural areas to address an identified need for better access to audiological care in these regions. They volunteer audiological services to the children and provide training to teachers and families living in rural provinces.
-A major education university has incorporated elements of the Global Foundation’s curriculum into its coursework for students studying special education. The professor who teaches the material participated in the Global Foundation’s training program for years and is now propagating her knowledge.
-A division within the Vietnam Ministry of Education, has requested our training and support as they work towards a standardized national curriculum for future teachers and therapists working with children with hearing loss.
Newborn hearing screening enables earlier identification of hearing loss. Early identification leads to more timely interventions during the critical years of language and learning. In Mongolia, the average age of identification of hearing loss in children has dropped from about 3 years in 2016 to under 1 year in 2019. Meanwhile, the Global Foundation’s training programs are furthering expertise among Mongolian medical and educational professionals to support the audiological and therapy needs of these children. Media and outreach efforts are raising awareness among families and the broader community for pediatric hearing loss and the importance of early action.
The improved services and expertise available as a result of the Global Foundation’s efforts has enabled more children with hearing loss to learn to listen and speak. As a result, the children are prepared to attend mainstream schools with hearing peers, thus increasing the educational opportunities available to them and enhancing their future quality of life as productive members of society.
We are thankful to our Global Foundation professional team, Board of Directors, donors, grantors, and partners in the countries where we work for a successful 10 years. We look forward to much more! Our collective efforts will ensure that more children with hearing loss can lead successful lives — no matter where in the world they live.