R2 million raised to give patients with significant hearing loss the gift of sound

To mark Mandela Day 2026, Jacaranda FM's Good Morning Angels joined hands with former Miss South Africa, Mia le Roux, and her AboutSound initiative to give twenty children and adults with significant hearing loss the ability to hear through cochlear implants.

Miss South Africa 2024, Mia le Roux, made history when she became the first differently abled participant to win the coveted crown.

Mia received a cochlear implant when she was just two years old, which enabled her, with the correct treatment and guidance, to hear and speak.

She has brought great focus to the plight of the deaf and hearing impaired and is spearheading AboutSound, an initiative to assist state patients at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in receiving cochlear implants.

Cochlear implants are a highly effective way of giving the ability to hear to those who have lost their hearing or who have never been able to hear at all.

The barrier to this life-changing gift is often the cost. A cochlear implant costs between R400,000 and R700,000, mainly because of the price of these technologically advanced devices, putting them out of reach for most families.

AboutSound is a public-private initiative to assist 20 vulnerable state patients at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in receiving life-changing cochlear implants.

The devices have already been secured, and the patients have completed the required audiological and medical assessments.

However, the hospital does not have the theatre or surgical capacity to perform the procedures within the critical time available.

In an extraordinary show of partnership and goodwill, The Ear & Eye Clinic in Meyersdal has generously agreed to perform three cochlear implant surgeries per month at a substantially reduced rate, reducing the overall surgical costs by approximately 80% to 85%.

As a result, the average cost per surgery for this project is R100,000.

You can continue to help by visiting www.aboutsound.co.za.

Some of the patients are children who have never been able to hear or speak.

Others are adults who have lost their hearing and are eager to resume their lives as active contributors to their families and society. In many cases, they are the primary breadwinners in their households.

The first three patients will receive their cochlear implant surgeries on 23 July 2026, performed by Dr Duane Mol and his team at The Ear & Eye Clinic in Meyersdal:

Moloko Mokgwana, 9 years old

Supplied by Mokoko Mokgwana

To mark Mandela Day 2026, Good Morning Angels joined hands with Mia le Roux and her AboutSound initiative to give 20 children and adults with significant hearing loss the ability to hear through cochlear implants.

Breakfast with Martin Bester broadcast live from Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital on Wednesday, 15 July, where Good Morning Angels raised R2 million to help make this life-changing initiative possible for twenty patients.

Thank you to all our wonderful donors:

• LottoStar (R100,000)
• Sons of Thunder, from their Mustang Stampede event (R100,000)
• The Naked Difference (R300,000)
• GHH Mining Komatsu (R400,000)
• Absa Charity Golf Day (R500,000)