Restore Hearing for Jason & Bataung

We need your help to provide two of our Academy scholars with hearing aids and surgery that will transform their life chances. Jason Naidoo and Bataung Molefi have been enrolled in the Kick4Life Academy since January. They have made outstanding progress at school, in their home environment and on the pitch. But access to effective hearing aids is holding them back. This is an immediate and pressing need, and we need your help to fund their medical costs.

The Academy is Kick4Life’s flagship programme, providing vulnerable children & young people with intensive academic support, football coaching and character development, with the aim of supporting them to student-athlete scholarships at international universities. Through the Academy, we aim to genuinely transform the lives of participants and have a measurable impact on the long-term sustainable development of Lesotho. With your help Jason and Bataung can continue on this pathway towards successful futures.

JASON NAIDOO
Jason is one of six siblings raised by their mother. He is a skilful right midfielder and his favourite subject is development studies.

Jason lost his hearing at an early age and it was not fully clear as to why it happened; this has held him back academically and as a result, he suffered bullying and ill-treatment prior to joining Kick4Life. The football pitch has been the place where he can express himself freely and K4L is now trying to help him access higher frequency hearing aids with a special microphone that will allow him to hear his teachers and coaches, and participate more fully in the classroom and on the pitch. Having grown up in systems that do not accommodate near-deaf students in primary school, Jason is set very far back at his first year of high school, and without proper hearing aids it is unlikely he will make it through. But he is a resilient young man and a talented learner, and we believe that with the right hearing aids he can make up for lost time and continue on the Academy route to a genuinely life-changing opportunity.

The ask: support in purchasing the Naida V30 hearing aid with FM system; travel support to South Africa to get fitted and for follow up assessments; maintenance support of the hearing aids. 

BATAUNG MOLEFI
Bataung and his two siblings were raised by their father. He is an immensely bright student and talented left-midfielder with high aspirations on and off the pitch.

For several years prior to joining the Academy, Bataung faced periodic, severe ear infections that would often make him feel sleepy, stressed and hard of hearing. In March this year, he was assessed in Lesotho and South Africa, as the Academy team noticed his hearing was deteriorating to the point where he couldn’t hear most people speaking to him. It was found that he has a ruptured right ear-drum and a partially ruptured membrane on his left, causing frequent sinus and ear infections and rapid hearing loss. In order to resolve these problems and restore hearing he needs immediate surgery, with further assessments to determine the level of damage done over the years and whether or not he will need hearing aids. Without the immediate surgery, his condition could deteriorate with further infections causing more damage to the membranes in his middle ear. With this support, we are confident he can continue towards a very successful future.

The ask: Fees for restorative surgery on both ears; travel support to South Africa to conduct the surgery as well as follow up care; hearing aid contingency.