R2,5 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 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 (www.aboutsound.co.za) 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:
Abdullah Myles, 1 year and 4 months old
Amukelo Baloyi, 2 years old
Moloko Mokgwana, 9 years old
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 20 patients.
It didn’t stop there. In the days following the broadcast, more donations came in, and we can proudly say that R2,5 million was raised in total, meaning that 25 people will receive the gift of sound.
Thank you to all our wonderful donors:
- LottoStar – R100 000
- Sons of Thunder – R100 000
- Rollfab Engineering – R100 000
- CER Synergies and their EDI Trust – R100 000
- Cubed Coatings, along with Fine Blanking Group – R100 000
- Naked Insurance and The Naked Difference – R300 000
- Anonymous – R300 000
- GHH Mining Komatsu – R400 000
- Absa Charity Golf Day – R500 000
- Anneli Heynecke – R10 000
- Gerry Robinson, QI Logistics – R25 000
- Jerome Loveland from Surgeons for Little Lives at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital – R100 000
The Good Morning Angels Fund NPC added another R165 000, bringing the total to R2,3 million, to assist 23 people in receiving cochlear implants through the AboutSound Initiative!
On Monday, 20 July, our friends from Goldrush added another R200 000. This brings the total to R2,5 million, which means 25 people will receive the gift of sound.
Tune in to 'Good Morning Angels', every Wednesday from 06:00 – 09:00, on 'Breakfast with Martin Bester'. Stream the special feature live here or download our mobile app here.
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Image: Jacaranda FM