St. Andrew's helps Ibrah to hear the birds again

Alison Bentley, St. Andrew's

Meet Ibrahim Senfuma, an excellent bird guide used St. Andrew’s parishioners Alison and Stewart Bentley in 2022. Ibrah is experiencing severe hearing loss which is negatively affecting his ability to do his guiding job. The latter relies heavily on being able to recognize bird sounds. Impacted first by the lengthy shut down of his country and the tourist trade owing to COVID and then dealt another blow recently when Ebola again slowed tourism, Ibrah is in no position to afford the hearing aids he so desperately needs. We are not talking just a quality of life improvement but his entire livelihood is threatened. There are no social financial safety nets in Uganda.

We have put Ibrah in touch with the resources he needs to get the correct specialized hearing aids. Recently he went to Kampala, got a prescription and was recommended the best aids to help him to hear birds and start work again. The Starkey Foundation, which makes those aids, was contacted and they referred us to their Uganda clinic. The doctor there, Muhammad, has offered a discount. However, depending on the model chosen, each ear will cost between $1100 and $2000 USD with the high end choice obviously being optimal. He is so desperate he said even one ear would be better than nothing. As he said in his last email, at present he is helpless.

St. Andrew’s has thus initiated a fundraiser to help Ibrah. Donations can be sent to St. Andrew’s in Sharbot Lake at standrewscentralfrontenac@gmail.com. Auto deposit is enabled. Please put Ibrah in the message field along with your address as tax receipts will be issued for all donations. If you prefer to send a cheque please send it to St. Andrew’s Central Frontenac, Box 26, 1028 Elizabeth St., Sharbot Lake, Ontario K0H 2P0 with Ibrah in the memo field. Thank-you for helping Ibrah to hear the birds again!