Binder4

JANUARY 2014

Dominican Republic
(Santiago, Santo Domingo)

Paul and Destini Molitor, Mike Wheeler, Arscotts,
Jane O’Brien, WCCO, Tracy Perlman

FEBRUARY 2014

Liberia (Monrovia, Zwedru)

First Female Head of State in Africa and Nobel Prize
winner Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,
Dr. Robert Dean



FEBRUARY 2014

New York City, NY
Super Bowl

Derrick Coleman, Jr., Garth Brooks, Joe Giraldi,
Larry Fitzgerald Jr., A.J. Green, Tommie Harris,

Andre Roberts, Wheelers, Daymond John,
Barbara Bush, Wilf Family, Alan Kalter



MARCH 2014

Malawi (Lilongwe, Mzuzu)

Her Excellency Dr. Joyce Banda, Jack Brewer,
Leigh Kassner, Dr. Wakisa

Phase 2 hearing mission at the Statehouse with President Joyce
Banda. Malawi and Blantyre missions were setup by Jack Brewer.
A few months prior, Dr. Wakisa (who leads the National Ear and
Hearing Care Plan for Malawi) was about to pull out support of
Starkey Hearing Foundation and block our team from providing
hearing healthcare in Malawi due to criticism from the Bartlett’s
and Sound Seekers talking about the model being unethical.
Tani asked Dr. Wakisa if he would wait to make a decision until he
came to a mission and saw the model in action for himself.
He attended this mission in Malawi and within 10 minutes of
being in the fitting area he went to Tani and told her that it was
brilliant.
Tani believes that Dr. Wakisa is a true champion for the people
in his country. He saw the model and the impact and decided
that from there on out he would support SHF moving forward
and stood against many critics at conferences like the Global
Coalition for Hearing Health Care.

MARCH 2014
MARCH 2014

Rwanda (Butare, Musanze)

Larry Fitzgerald Jr., Sandi Young, KK Gross,
Neil Aiello, Naomi Tesfamarian, Celeste Longo



Steven Sawalich
Senior Director of Global Media and Philanthropy

Starkey Hearing Technologies

OPERATION CHANGE

Traveling the world to give the gift of hearing to people
in need has brought our team face to face with some
of the greatest artrocites and challenges of our time –
warzones, famine, extreme poverty, lack of sanitation
infrastructure, no access to clean water, and the list
goes on. Initially, the magnitude of these issues was
overwhelming, but Bill Austin’s mindset quickly shifted to
that of opportunity.
While delivering the gift of hearing, the team has met
incredible organizations that provide care to their
communities and has experienced breathtaking stories
of hope and possibility. Determined, Austin set out to
harness the power of these organizations and stories to
begin a global movement, and “Operation Change” was
born.
Austin appointed Senior Director of Global Media and
Philanthropy for Starkey Hearing Technologies, Steven
Sawalich to lead the change. Drawing on his experience
as a filmmaker, Sawalich lead a crew of 60, with more
than 70 production cases of equipment weighing
2,000 pounds, to South Africa, India, Colombia, and
more. In each location the team along with volunteers
and celebrity partners joined together to complete
a sustainable project that enhanced the community
while working to restore hearing to hundreds of people
in need, fitting patients and changing lives while the
cameras were on hand to capture the unforgettable
moments.

MARCH 2014

Uganda (Gulu, Kampala)

Academy Award Winner and UNESCO Goodwill
Ambassador Forest Whitaker, Pros for Africa, Bill Horn,
LSTN, Tommie Harris, Jonathan Severn, Ret Templett,

Barbara Bush, Jr.,

Tani established protocol to screen
patients ears pre otoscopy

APRIL 2014

Anman, Jordan

Ziad Asali, American Task Force on Palestine,
the Hilliard Family, Starkey Canada,
Hearing Aid Center of Jordan



APRIL 2014

Israel/Palestine
(Hebron, Ramallah, Tulkarem)

Mike and Juliet Wheeler, Sheba Medical Center, United
Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the

Near East, Baha’a aden Efthaiha, Starkey Canada





JUNE 2014

Kenya (Kibera, Nairobi)

NHL superstar David Backes and wife Kelly

2014 SO THE WORLD MAY
HEAR AWARDS GALA

Honorees: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Forest Whitaker,

The Parents Circle-Families Forum,
Prince Seeiso, Sandi Young



Lee Greenwood, Jessica Sanchez, Norm Crosby
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Derrick Coleman, Bill Austin

Rob Thomas, Forest Whitaker, Sammy Hagar
Brandon Sawalich and Andreas, John Legend, Steven Sawalich



JULY 2014

Honduras (La Ceiba,
San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa)

JULY 2014

DRC (Kinshasa)
First Mission in DRC

Dikeme Mutombo



JULY 2014

Republic of Congo

NBA Cares, ESPN, Pros for Africa
NBA star Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder





JULY 2014

Nairobi, Kenya
AfterCare Trainings

AUGUST 16 - SEPTEMBER 16

Peru (Iquitos, Piura, Cusco,
Cajamarca, Machu Picchu, Huancayo,

Chimbote, Trujillo)





Matt Nathanson attends mission in Huancayo and films
“Headphones” music video to raise money for SHF

SEPTEMBER 2014

China Mission
(Kunming, Chuxiong, Dali, Lijiang)

Hansens, LSTN, Madame Tao





OCTOBER 2014

Kabal, Afghanistan

Bayat Foundation



WFA® COMMUNITY-BASED
HEARING HEALTHCARE TRAINING

2014 was Starkey Hearing Foundation’s first official WFA®
Community-Based Hearing HealthCare training. It was held in
Nairobi, Kenya and 40 attendees (Program Advisors, Country
Coordinators and Hearing Care Coordinators) from 14 different
countries in Africa: Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi, DRC, Tanzania,
Lesotho, Madagascar, Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia, South Africa
and India attended.

The training focused on training attendees to be confident
in: assessing basic primary ear care, performing otoscopy,
performing voice test screenings, taking ear impressions,
performing hearing fittings based on the WFA® Fitting Method,
performing counseling and hearing aid troubleshooting.
Coordinators were asked to bring their AfterCare kits to the
training and any Phase 3 hearing aids for repair or replacement.
Bill replaced them at the mission held on day two of the training
in Kibera.

At this training, Tani said “I want to create a guide on how to
take a proper ear impression. There are no best practices being
used internationally.” And, she saw the need.



NOVEMBER 2014

Soweto, South Africa



NOVEMBER 2014

Loibosoit, Tanzania

David Furnish,
Elton John Aids Foundation







NOVEMBER 2014

Philippines (Puerto Princesa,
General Santos, Lipa City, Manila)

Bill paid for heart surgery for
this little girl Gabriela

SISTER GRETA’S
FIRST MEETING

In November 2014 the team held a mission in Sri Lanka, where we
met Sister Greta. Tani walked into the mission and found a huge
group of children seated, 102 pre-school aged children.
Tani wasn’t aware of the large group of young kids and asked
where they came from, when a smiling Sister Greta stepped up and
said they belonged to her school. When Tani described interacting
with Sister Greta, she recalled “she was lovely.”
Tani stepped in to pre-screen the children, to see if they would
be easier or more difficult fit, using a power level above 6. They
continued throughout the day, fitting the 102 children from the deaf
school.
Saturday evening Tani told Bill that she needed to go back to the
school where the children came from. She needed to know that
they were being cared for, that they knew how to use their hearing
aids. The following Tuesday, Tani and a small team drove 45
minutes to the school, while the remaining team toured the country.
As they pulled up to the school, they heard the singing voices of
100 children.
Sister Greta met them at the school and explained that she
mainstreams students by the age of 5. No matter how profound or
mild their hearing loss. All of her students wear hearing aids. She
shared that the happiest day of her life is when a student moves on
from her school and she never sees them again.