A Milestone Worth Celebrating & the Butterfly Effect

The butterfly effect starts small. It’s a smile you give to someone that leads them to smile at someone else. It’s the child who can hear their mother clearly for the first time after being fit with hearing aids and goes on to pursue a career in hearing health as an adult. And it’s all the beautiful moments in between. At its core, it’s about how a seemingly small action can lead to an immense impact - and it’s what I’m incredibly proud to have seen shine through our work with the Starkey Hearing Institute.

Established in 2016 in Lusaka, Zambia, as Co-Founders of Starkey Hearing Foundation, Bill and I wanted to create more opportunities for individuals to help their communities long-term through education. This program elevates and empowers SHI students’ purpose through hands-on training and real experiences helping share the gift of better hearing with others - each moment of growth building upon this wonderful butterfly effect that has spread beyond our Institute’s campus.???

2023 marked a major milestone for the Starkey Hearing Institute. As of last year, more than 100 hearing health care students have graduated from the program (103 to be exact!) from 19 African countries. By investing in their training, SHI students will change the future of access to hearing health care by establishing direct and active community-based care. This program impacts so much more these students - from their education to new employment and the ability to care for their communities. Even one student can make an immense difference in the world after graduation.

The impact of community-based health care is what the butterfly effect is all about. Each student will go on to participate in the AfterCare program with the capacity to assist anywhere from 500 to 1,000 patients each year with exams, wax removal, hearing tests and hearing aid fittings. As of 2021, the Institute had grown in sustainable philanthropy, delivering the gift of hearing access to more than 50,000 individuals a year. Now, with more than 100 graduates equipped with this education and these tools, that number will continue to grow and grow. And this is just the beginning!??

In 2023, the team established a monumental relationship with the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines to create a program for 30 to 40 students each year to receive the same training in hearing health education through a hands-on six-month curriculum. By 2027, we hope to expand to El Salvador through a similar program that will continue their commitment to hearing care access around the world.?

We are so grateful to our caring team, our board and President Richard Brown along with partners Dr. Alfred and Sheeba Mwamba and the staff of Starkey Hearing Institute, Father Richard Ang, Dean Lourdes D. Maglinao, Dr. Norberto Martinez and the Audiology department of the University of Santo Tomas, along with our good friend and supporter Dr. Ma Salve Olalia.? Everyone works so hard to support the students and instill caring into the work they do. Every action of our team, our students and our graduates leads to more beautiful moments of the butterfly effect that are helping the world hear. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for these bright minds!