Charity - Robert's aid in a suitcase - Summer 2005

When Robert Davies, Managing Director of Seaford and Sevenoaks Hearing Centres, took a flight to Kenya recently, his suitcase was the subject of special attention at the check-in. It was packed full of hearing aids, specialised testing equipment and batteries.

His destination was the Reverend Muhoro School for the Deaf in the remote Mukurwe-ini district, near Nyeri on the slopes of Mount Kenya.

The school, one of the only three of its type in Kenya, has 180 deaf and profoundly deaf pupils - aged 16 to 22 with some as far afield as Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan and Burundi. They integrate with a further 100 pupils with full hearing which helps them to retain their powers of speech.

Robert first heard about the project’s needs 18 months ago when he met the district's MP Mutahi Kagwe at a charity event in the UK. He was told that with no welfare system and limited state funding, the school was heavily dependent on charitable support.

Robert said, "When I learned about the wonderful work and the pressing needs of the school, I was delighted to help. This was my second visit, and throughout, the support of our manufacturing colleagues in donating the equipment was magnificent. We took hearing aids from Phonak, teaching aids from Starkey, GN Resound testing equipment, an Oticon Otoscope and batteries from Rayovac. There are plenty of people with hearing aids that are not working, simply because they can't get hold of batteries."

Robert, who funded the visit himself, was kept busy at the school, holding 'clinics' and giving his expertise on many aspects of ear care. He sees his involvement as a long-term commitment and plans to take Matt Cannon, his business partner at Sevenoaks Hearing Centre, on a further visit to the school this year.