Learning with Hearing in Mauritania

The Foundation recently caught up with Aya, 11, at AfterCare in Nouakchott, Mauritania. Her story is a fantastic one of the difference hearing can make in getting a mainstream education.

Aya had an ear infection when she was an infant. Due to improper treatment, she suffered profound hearing loss which made things difficult growing up, especially when she reached school age. 

Her parents could not afford the transportation costs to send her to a school for the deaf, so they enrolled her in a nearby school that her sister attended. Every day, Ava’s sister sat by her to relay what the teacher was saying and help her with conversations so she would not feel left out or fall behind.  

This system was far from a perfect, and it also disrupted the class. At one point, the school asked Aya to leave, and her mother had to beg to let her stay at school as she knew how critical an education would be for her.

This went on for several years until Starkey Hearing Foundation fit Aya with hearing aids during our Mauritania hearing mission in March 2015. When we saw her again in early 2016, she told us many stories about hearing the words that make her feel smarter and life brighter. As importantly, she no longer feels like a burden to her sister or disrupting any other student from learning.

Aya’s parents also went on about how much the hearing aids have helped her, not only in the classroom, but at home as well. They’re ecstatic about how much more clearly they can communicate with her.

We’re always thrilled to hear these amazing stories about how the gift of hearing can make life better for a child and their family.