Goma, Kinshasa

July 2014 Democratic Republic of the Congo

For our first hearing mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), we needed powerful partnerships that would help us mobilize our efforts on the ground. We found exactly what we needed in Ben Affleck’s organization Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI) and former NBA superstar Dikembe Mutombo.

With the help of ECI, we were able to build an effective foundation for our sustainable, community-based hearing health care model and reach out to local organizations and deaf schools that would otherwise not have access to hearing care. The students we met were eager to have consistent access to the world of sound, and the hearing mission team made sure that each student was given the gift of hearing.

Many of the patients in the DRC had not known it was possible to treat their hearing loss; they had accepted their retreat into silence. Working at the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital, which was built by the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in honor of Mutombo's mother, the team gave these patients the hope and opportunity that had once been beyond their imagination.

Special Thanks

Eastern Congo Initiative; williamsworks: Whitney Williams; HEAL Africa Hospital; Dikembe Mutombo Foundation: Dikembe Mutombo; NBA Cares; Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital; Bismack Biyombo

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