Chimbote Hearing Project with Jerry Brecke
Our Program on April 2nd was given by Jerry Brecke, and he described his experiences in Chimbote, Peru as a member of the Starkey Hearing Foundation Project. Located in Eden Prairie, the Starkey Company was founded in Hopkins in 1967, then purchased and expanded by Bill Austin, the present leader. Starkey is the largest hearing aid manufacturer in the U. S.
The Starkey Foundation is the company’s way of sharing their technology with hard-of-hearing people in low-income countries. Bill Austin, the CEO, has a goal to donate 1,000,000 free hearing aids to needy worldwide by 2020. The Starkey Foundation is doing that by partnering with Rotary and other organizations to help complete the project. Giving away hearing aids is not like giving people food. Each hearing aid has to be individually fitted in order to work properly, and the new user has to be instructed in how to use and maintain the unit.
Jerry Brecke was recently in Chimbote, Peru to help the Starkey group fit aids to people with hearing issues. They make an individual ear mold for each client, fit the unit, and instruct each new user how to use the unit. He had a Power Point that showed the process, and the location where the fittings were held – at one of the local Rotary Club facilities in Chimbote. The process he participated in in Chimbote is duplicated throughout the world by groups working with Starkey, as these missions have occurred in over 100 countries.