Donation For Hearing First Steps

After 24 years of senior management roles both in business management and human resources for national and global organisations, Barbara decided to leave her career, and follow her heart in  helping the people of Timor-Liste, a small war-ravaged island off the coast of Australia where the Timorese people have endured incomprehensible anguish.

Her heart was won over by the hundreds of children who are suffering from hearing loss and she decided to open Hearing First Steps, a non-profit dedicated to helping the 17,000 people on this small, poverty stricken island who are currently hearing impaired as a result of the following:

• Women are not eating properly during pregnancy – their diet typically consists of rice which is nutrient poor, causing severe malnutrition in newborns.
• They use chicken feathers or sticks to clean their ears, causing ear infections, ruptures and hearing loss.
• Boys help their families by diving for fish without equalizing their ears, which often causes the ear drums to rupture.
• Poor sanitation and water conditions which can often lead to illness, infection and resulting hearing loss.

To make matters worse, the hearing impaired are at high risk of verbal and physical abuse and a life of isolation. Deaf women and young girls, who are unable to communicate, are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence.

Please help us do our part to provide a basic life necessity for these wonderful children.