This year, Kenya Connect is partnering with the Global Foundation for Children with Hearing Loss (GFCHL) to celebrate World Hearing Day (WHD), themed From Communities to Classrooms: Hearing Care for All. This celebration is not limited to just one day; we are dedicating an entire week to screening babies and children for hearing loss at the Wamunyu Health Center.
In preparation for this global event, last week GFCHL and Kenya Connect held a one-day training for about 40 community health promoters and early childhood educators. The training focused on raising awareness about the importance of hearing screening, early identification, and ensuring a continuum of care for those who need further support. In February, Kenya Connect distributed World Hearing Day materials developed by the World Health Organization and the Global Foundation for Children with Hearing Loss to educators from over 76 partner schools. These resources were shared in advance to equip them to raise awareness about ear care, the importance of early hearing screening, and timely intervention.
As a result of this early mobilization and community outreach, families have been turning up daily at Wamunyu Health Center to have their children screened demonstrating growing awareness and trust in the importance of hearing health.
The screening process is being supported by 19 community health promoters throughout this week. As of today, a total of 90 babies and children have been screened. Across our partner schools, teachers actively marked WHD by sharing key messages on ear care, hearing health, and the importance of early screening helping learners understand how healthy hearing supports success in the classroom and beyond. During this week, the community health promoters will continue to support the screening process.
Over the past two days alone, several babies and children who have been screened did not pass the initial test and haveeither been referred for further evaluation or received immediate care, such as ear cleaning for impacted wax.
One such case was Emmanuel, a 7-year-old grade two student who received a “referral” result in his right ear during the initial screening. His mother, Sarah, shared that she would often call him several times without a response. She had begun to worry that he was being disobedient and sometimes considered punishing him. At school, his teachers had thoughtfully placed him at the front of the classroom to help him follow lessons more easily.
During the screening process, audiologists discovered that Emmanuel had impacted earwax. After his ears were cleaned, he was retested and he passed! Sarah immediately noticed the difference. “When I called him, he responded right away,” she said with relief. “I am very grateful to Kenya Connect and the Global Foundation for Children with Hearing Loss for organizing this screening event. I am so happy my son can now hear well.”
Stories like Emmanuel’s remind us why early detection matters. Together we are working to break barriers and ensure children are ready to learn.
