Hearing aids warn Gaza kids of bombs

MARK TAYLOR/Waikato Times

HEADING OFF: Former Waikato Hospital nurse Helen Green is off to Gaza again to help the deaf.

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Deaf children in Gaza don't need hearing aids just to help them learn – they need them to simply survive.

Hamilton woman and former Waikato Hospital nurse Helen Green flies out this week for the Gaza strip – one of the most volatile parcels of land in the world.

It will be her third trip to the region to monitor progress on a governance project she's working on for German non-government organisation CBM (Christoffel-Blindenmission), an organisation which acts on the needs and rights of people with disabilities in 113 countries around the world.

The work Mrs Green is doing with the deaf and blind in Gaza is just a small part of that.

Mrs Green said restoring hearing – via hearing aids – to the children of Gaza had a profound effect on their chance of survival.

"I remember when I first went there and I asked [those already on the ground] `how many of the children we screen are actually fitted with hearing aids, or are most too far gone for it to make a difference?'.

"The reply was `we fit everyone'. Because even if the children still can't hear voices, the hearing aid will allow them to hear the sirens and bombs.

"I mean what kind of a sick world do we live in when the best we can hope is that children will be able to hear the sound of bombs coming toward them? But that's the reality for these children."

The rate of deafness in Gaza is one of the highest in the world due to damage caused in the formative years of a child's life due to bombing and loud explosions.

But Mrs Green said despite turmoil around them, the people of Gaza still had hope that one day there would be peace.

"They really value life – I guess that's what keeps them going."

Mrs Green, who visited many Third World countries during her work with World Vision, said Gaza was one of the poorest she'd been to, excluding Afghan-istan which was on a par.

On top, they were isolated from the outside world due to the Israel imposed blockade.

"If you go to the Congo at least there are still borders – ways you can get out if you have to.

"But in Gaza, for 1.8 million people, there is only one way out. And for many they will never get out."

She said the blockade made it hard for CBM to get the materials they needed to make hearing aids and print braille pages for the blind.

They could source the plastic needed for the hearing aids via underground tunnels from Egypt, but the ear moulds had to be made from casts in Gaza.

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