A Harpenden-based grassroots charity for children with hearing loss has secured a windfall of funding for their work overseas.
Let the Children Hear has received a £50,000 grant from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for their hearing programmes in Uganda.
Data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows that there are 34 million children worldwide with disabling hearing loss. The majority of those affected live in developing countries.
WHO also states that 60 per cent of childhood hearing loss is due to preventable causes.
The charity is run by a local retired GP, Dr Paul Choudhury and nurses Liz Choudhury and Elspeth Russell, along with a group of local volunteer trustees.
“The UK Aid funding has made a huge difference to how our charity is able to deliver this programme,” Dr Choudhury said. “The rigorous application process has transformed the charity and enabled us to extend our operation.”
Through the Small Charities Challenge Fund project, Let the Children Hear aims to screen 2,700 newborns and 3,000 school children.
The new funding has enabled the charity to expand the Ugandan team to nine employees and to take on two trainee audiologists. Currently, there is only one paediatric audiologist in the country, and they have been trained by the charity.
For more information about Let the Children Hear, visit their website.
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