Dell SA has pledged its support to the hearing impaired community of SA with its donation of an OptiPlex GX50 to the HARK Project - an extensive community-based programme serving financially disadvantaged children with ear and hearing disorders throughout the Western Cape.
The project is an initiative of the Deaf Child Centre at the University of Cape Town, and is run in collaboration with the Commonwealth Society for the Deaf, based in London.
"Since the inception of our project, we have treated over 1 000 children from various regions of the Western Cape. We have also identified a large number of young, hearing-impaired children who would ordinarily go undetected owing to a lack of services within disadvantaged communities," comments Lori Michelson, audiologist at the Hark Project.
The children targeted by HARK mostly live in farming communities, squatter camps and townships and as a result of poor socioeconomic conditions are at risk for developing chronic ear infections also known as "poor man`s disease" and other illnesses that cause hearing loss. Children that are at risk are referred to and seen by HARK at primary and secondary healthcare sites (clinics and hospitals), which means that the problem of accessibility to the tertiary healthcare facilities in Cape Town itself is overcome.
The OptiPlex will be used for the storage of patient information, statistics and programme evaluation information, as well as for the development of a database for large research projects. "It would also enable the clinicians to produce additional material for presentations and educational seminars," adds Michelson.
"We feel that our work has been critical in providing these children with the opportunity to develop speech and language optimally, which in turn will have vast psychosocial and educational implications for them. In addition, the project has played a vital role in raising public awareness as well as training up other education and health professionals in the area."
Michelson explains that while the impact of an ear infection and/or hearing impairment on a child`s life can be devastating, many people are not aware of the importance of hygiene, signs and symptoms of hearing loss and how to manage a hearing impaired child. "As a result, young children go undetected for many years and miss out on their critical period for speech and language development. Public awareness and professional training therefore form an integral part of the project."
In terms of social responsibility, Dell SA has a strong focus on education, as Excel Shikwane, Executive Corporate Affairs at Dell SA, explains: "The HARK project not only assists with the medical implications of hearing impaired South Africans, but also educates their families and also helps create public awareness regarding the hearing impaired. These are issues that we deem important and would like to support."
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