(SECOND CHANCE. 84-year-old Roberto Banawa shares his overwhelming joy with Starkey founder Bill Austin and Gov. Dennis “Delta” Pineda as he regains his hearing after 50 years. Photo courtesy of Jun Jaso/Pampanga PIO)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Gov. Dennis “Delta” Pineda has expressed his gratitude to Starkey Hearing Foundation and to the efforts of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in providing millions of peso worth of free hearing aid tools to thousands of people in the province who have hearing loss.
“We are so much indebted and appreciative to Starkey Foundation led by Dr. Bill Austin, his wife and to the staff of UST because providing hearing aid to thousands of beneficiaries who have hearing loss is such a great achievement as hearing plays a major role in peoples’ quality of life – from emotional well-being and physical health. I am requesting that this will be done annually here. Just imagine the amount of help given to us for free,” the governor said.
He said that Starkey and UST are not just instrumental in providing hearing aid tools but the most important is that they give the hearing impaired the opportunity to enjoy the sounds of laughter, music, nature or conversations with family and friends.
“With the Starkey’s mission of ‘So, the World May Hear’, a lot lives were changed for the better. Thousands hear for the first time and many were given the second chance to hear. These undeniably, make moments more memorable and life more enjoyable,” he added.
Pineda also shared that he was moved as he sees hearing-impaired patients cry as they hear for the first time through the hearing aids given by Starkey.
“Putting this up and seeing everyone work together is really what keep us leaders do what we love to do and that is to provide love and joy to our people through the services offered by the government through the assistance of non-government organizations like Starkey,” he further shared.
This holds true during the two-day mission of Starkey together with UST medical staff through the Provincial Government of Pampanga held at Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center here.
During the event, the hearing- impaired were given free hearing aid kits, lifetime supply of battery and aftercare services.
Bill Austin, founder of Starkey Hearing Foundation, personally led the activity together with his team and other medical volunteers in the province and from other private organizations.
This was the third visit of Starkey since their first hearing mission in Pampanga way back in 2018. According to Austin, the provincial government has been very supportive and accommodating in putting their visions into life.
“The provincial government has been so nice. That’s why we keep on coming back. They’re so gracious, we feel so good about doing the work here. Everyone is working together to find more patients, so all may hear,” Austin shared.
Austin said the leadership of the mother and son tandem is so outstanding. “You can sense the amount of love and compassion they have for their people, which make them stand out from other politicians in the country,” Austin said.
To date, more than 4,000 Kapampangans have already benefited from the hearing aid program of the hearing Foundation.
