Growing the Program in Grenada

This October, we were fortunate enough to hold our first hearing mission in the Caribbean country of Grenada. We served over 250 patients and provided more than 450 hearing aids to Grenadians. Upon hearing about our mission, the Minister of Agriculture brought her mother, aunt and driver to be fit as well. We were able to establish our WFA® Community-Based Hearing Healthcare program while there. Participants from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education were trained on the standards of the program and how to support patients who have been fit.

Since this was our first mission in Grenada, we ascertained that the need for increased awareness in hearing health was great. To that end, the Foundation’s partnership with both the Ministries of Health and Education, I Hear You Inc., the St. Georges University and The Trade Centre, creates a strategic, sustainable model that caters to Grenadians who need but cannot afford hearing aids.

Over 60 newly-fit patients attended the AfterCare session which was held a few days after the mission, expressing their gratitude for the hearing aids they received. Many of them appreciated the opportunity to be counseled again on the care of the hearing aids and how to effectively use them.

The success of the mission was eye-opening for many of the volunteers who shared that until the mission, they did not know so many people were in need of hearing aids in Grenada.

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