A Place of Peace

Former child soldier Okello Sam has dedicated his life to educating and healing the young victims of Uganda’s civil war. After living through and overcoming his own abduction and the death of his brother at the hands of Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army, Sam created Hope North, a safe place just beyond the war zone where children affected by the violence can come to heal. Starkey Hearing Foundation partners closely with Sam and Hope North to give these children back the gift of hearing and help them develop the connections needed to build a peaceful future.

During a recent visit to our headquarters in Minnesota, Sam sat down with the team to talk about the impact of his work and the gift of hearing.

How were you first introduced to Starkey Hearing Foundation?

I was introduced to Starkey Hearing Foundation through Forest Whitaker. He told me that the Foundation was coming to Uganda for a hearing mission. In our school at Hope North, we have many challenges with children struggling with hearing loss often caused by exposure to explosives from war or lack of access to medical care. So, when Starkey came to Uganda, we had them fit more than 50 of our kids who had hearing problems.

What was life like for the 50 children with hearing loss, before Starkey Hearing Foundation fit them with hearing aids?

I think that when you see the reaction on the kids’ faces, you realize how miserable they have been over the years and how unaware of their environments they have been. The good thing with Starkey Hearing Foundation’s hearing mission is that the impact is instantaneous – you see the privilege, advantage and greatness immediately. You see in the faces of the kids that they have really been suffering and unaware of all they were missing, and all of a sudden, everything is complete. Everything is full. Everything is real. They test it. They feel it. They hear it. That … I don’t know how to explain that. It’s something that is precious.

What kind of improvements do see in the children from the time they are fit to when they are seen in AfterCare?

They improve academically. You see their grades skyrocket. You see their attitude change completely. They begin to appreciate everything. They begin to appreciate life. They begin to contribute to discussions. They get involved in activities. They get their life back.

These are kids who used to sit in isolation. You see them now, and they want to be a part of everything. Their life completely changes. They become children. They begin to do the things that every child should do.

What do you think it means for children coming from a place of conflict and violence to get their hearing back?

It means a lot to them because they know what they lost. It took a while for most of them to get it back. A lot of them had lost hope, and to see them regain the hope that they lost is tremendous. I believe the impact the gift of hearing is a trinity:

1. For a child who has been psychologically tortured because he has lost his hearing, the hearing aids are a therapy. They allow him to rediscover himself. 

2. The child now begins to participate fully in activities, which is in itself a healing process. 

3. The child will make a contribution based on the capacity that he has, and he now has a new capacity. The child can make better contributions.

What is your greatest joy in your work at Hope North?

I see people realizing that they can rediscover themselves. I see people transform. I find great joy in having the opportunity to protect children and give them the opportunity to lead a better life. I have been able to create a space where children can be safe, educated and allowed to progress.

What advice would you give a young person looking to have an impact on the world?

Every single person has the capacity to do good. Nothing is little – every small contribution means a lot. It is these molecular contributions that make one big contribution. You don’t have to make your contribution in the big world – contribute to your neighbor, to your mom, to your dad, to your brothers and sisters. It is from that, that we will build a better world.