Fulfilling their pledge to enrich the lives of the Afghan people with the three precious gifts of Hearing, Healing and Hope, The Bayat Foundation (www.bayatfoundation.org), Afghanistan's largest, private, non-profit Health, Education and Social Development Organization, and The Starkey Hearing Foundation (www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org), announced the successful conclusion of their third annual joint Bayat-Starkey Afghanistan Hearing Care Mission.

The Bayat-Starkey Hearing Care Mission, held in Kabul on August 28^th – 29^th, provided free auditory and hearing restoration care to approximately 1,000 Afghan citizens, who hailed from every region of the country.

Each Bayat-Starkey Hearing Care Team serving patients comprised a partnership of The Starkey Hearing Foundation's renown team of hearing care specialists and professional audiologists with highly trained and dedicated volunteers from The Bayat Foundation and all divisions of The Bayat Group of Companies, including Afghan Wireless Communication Company and the Ariana Radio and Television Network.

Dr. Ehsanollah Bayat and Mrs. Fatema Bayat spearheaded The Bayat Group and The Bayat Foundation's efforts for the Bayat-Starkey Hearing Care Mission, illustrating their profound and personal commitment to the success of the mission, and their determination to improve the lives of their fellow Afghans. During the mission's two-day period, the Bayat-Starkey Hearing Care Teams worked intensively, from morning until dusk.

The Bayat-Starkey Hearing Care Teams utilized a meticulous intake process, which helped prepare each patient to receive the most appropriate and effective type of hearing care. The intake process included recording vital statistics of each patient, conducting a thorough examination of the ears and auditory system, and also, cleaning the ear and auditory system. After cleaning the ears and auditory system, each patient was fitted with a set of ear molds—clear, wear-resistant plastic discs used to house the hearing aids that were provided without cost to each patient.

After completing intake, volunteers escorted each patient into the treatment area, where the Bayat-Starkey hearing care team, together with specially trained volunteers, fit each patient with the hearing devices that empowered each patient—many for the first time in their lives—to use the precious, powerful gift of hearing, sound and their voices to connect with their families, their communities and the world.

"In two days, on August 28^th and 29^th, our Bayat-Starkey Teams helped restore the hearing of almost 1,000 Afghans—and since 2014, The Bayat Foundation, working together with our amazing partner, The Starkey Hearing Foundation, have provided the gift of hearing to more than 3,000 Afghans," said Dr. Ehsanollah Bayat, the Co-Chair of The Bayat Foundation. "I know that The Bayat Foundation and The Starkey Hearing Foundation will continue to work together here in Afghanistan, striving to bring the gifts of healing, health and hope to our nation."

"All of us at The Bayat Foundation and The Starkey Hearing Foundation have been moved and inspired by this opportunity to help thousands of Afghans hear, many for the very first time in their lives," said Mrs. Fatema Bayat, the Co-Chair of The Bayat Foundation. "In 2017, we hope to provide hearing care to even more Afghans, and I know that together, The Bayat Foundation and The Starkey Hearing Foundation will keep moving forward, until we reach that moment where every person in Afghanistan affected by hearing loss is healed from it, and every Afghan has an opportunity to live a long, prosperous and healthy life."