Success Stories

Providing the Gift of Hearing in Lebanon

"In Lebanon, 300 to 400 children are born deaf every year," says Mrs. Roudayna Akkad, president of the Association of Parents of the Deaf in Lebanon (APML). Due to financial constraints, many parents are unable to buy hearing aid devices for their children. APML was started by a group of parents with deaf children, and in coordination with the United Lebanon Relief (ULR) fund-raising campaign, APML selected 10 children, aged 8 to 19 years old, to receive digital hearing aids provided by CHF International. In addition, one additional hearing aid was donated by Professor Elie El Zir of the Sacré-Coeur Hospital, where each of the children was examined.

Digital hearing devices can organize and filter sounds of different volumes, whereas before, the children's analog hearing aid devices could not control sound separately, greatly inhibiting the ability to process all noises at once and follow conversations.

Qamar Sayyad

The Sayyad family lives in North Lebanon, where the father is a street vendor who makes a living by selling goods from his van on the street. Qamar's mother stays home to take care of her five children, including Qamar and Yehia, her little brother, who is also deaf.

Qamar, a nine year old girl, currently receives special education, but because she has had the same hearing aid device since the age of four, she has trouble concentrating, responding and interacting with her teachers, friends and family. APML chose Qamar to receive a new digital hearing aid because her parents couldn’t afford to replace her old one on their own.

Qamar entered the Sacré-Coeur hospital enthusiastically and ready to receive her new hearing aid with the guidance of Professor El-Zir. After receiving the new hearing device, there was an immediate improvement in Qamar's ability to respond to her surroundings quickly.

"This device will help Qamar in getting re-integrated into society, school and family" stated Mr. Sayyad, who gratefully talked about CHF's efforts to help deaf children. For the first time, Qamar was able to hear multiple voices and sounds around her at once and didn't know how to express her excitement. Professor El-Zir explained that she will need speech therapy to start comprehending and responding to the noises she is hearing. But her feelings were clear -- her big smile, shining eyes and hand movements spoke for her.

Qamar is just one of the youth who was able to receive the gift of hearing through the collaboration of CHF International and the United Lebanon Relief Campaign.