My Son Will Hear My Voice.

Children respond instantly when their mother calls them. To most parents, all sorts of alarm bells go off if they don't. For Hilda Kajuju, she just wants her son to hear her. Not even respond.

You see, Hilda's son Jabali was born with two anomalies; one ear was too small and he had only one kidney. People sell kidneys to buy iPhones so we know we can live without one kidney. The ear situation however, was a different story.

The doctor said Jabali was deaf. Hilda said Jabali was not deaf. Hilda was right. She is still fighting to be right.

As I listen to her story, I can't help but admire the faith that this resilient mother has. Regardless how many doctors said Jabali was deaf, deep down she knew she had to keep on fighting. She went to seven other doctors trying to find a solution to Jabali's ear problem and never once gave up hope that Jabali would one day hear her voice. I don't know how many other parents would have just accepted the situation and made plans to readjust, but Hilda's persistence might just bring more than music to young Jabali's ears.

You see, Jabali was born with a small ear malfunction called microtia.  The doctors did audiology reports that indicated that he had a hearing loss on both ears. According to them, he was deaf. Hilda tried different hearing aids but it seems Jabali's resolve to live a normal life was stronger. He always found a way of defiantly taking them off. As if trying to let everyone know that he didn't need them.

Hilda went on research mode and found out that cochlear implants could give her son a normal life, a suggestion that Professor Macharia, a top ENT specialist, agreed with. A cochlear implant is an electronic medical device that replaces the function of the damaged inner ear. Unlike hearing aids, which make sounds louder, cochlear implants do the work of damaged parts of the inner ear (cochlea) to provide sound signals to the brain.She further found out that 700 successful similar surgeries had been done in India and decided that Jabali's would be number 701.

The cost for the operation and implant in India is Ksh 4m, higher than the typical implant cost since Jabali needs a specialized device. Hilda thought that it wouldn't be an issue since she had in place a medical Insuarance policy for Jabali worth Ksh 10m that she had been paying diligently for the past three years. That could sort it, right? Wrong. The Insuarance company went rogue on her citing peculiar exemptions - they flat out refused to pay. She says she knows patients who have been covered in similar conditions but as usual, the Insuarance scumbags are trying to fleece her. I believe her. NHIF is only willing to pay Ksh 500k because she is not a civil servant. This also doesn't make sense.

Well, if she had the luxury of time, she would have fought the fraudsters and got all the cash she needed to take her son to India. However, after five years of age, Jabali's condition might not be reversible. He is now four years eleven months old. It's crunch time.

Hilda, her friends and family have just three weeks to raise the cash. We all have three weeks to raise the cash.

Hilda is not lazy (we were in the same class and she got employed at a top establishment just months after high school). She is just a victim of circumstances. Caught between giving her son a normal life and fighting for the cash to keep him in a costly special school as well as pay astronomical sums for three speech therapy sessions per week. All this on a three week deadline.

Let's beat this deadline and give Jabali his hearing back. Three weeks. That's all we have.

If you would like to help, please send whatever you can on mpesa number 0727158844 (Hilda's personal line) or Paybill number 516600 Acc. Number 0247355371001. Alternatively, you could also deposit into DTB Bank, Buruburu branch acc. Number 7355371001 Account name Jabali Sanare.

Also join us on 30th September (one week to deadline) YMCA Mamlaka Road, Nairobi at 2pm for the fundraising event.

Prayers and presence will be useful, but won't really pay the bills. Dig deep for Jabali and let's bring the music back to his ears.

Enjoy your day.