Twenty-three precious lives, including three sweet young boys who have only ever known a muffled world, are about to experience the wonder of clear sound and connection for the very first time.
Johannesburg, South Africa (17 July 2026) – One-year-old Abdullah Myles, two-year-old Amukelo Baloyi, and nine-year-old Moloko Mokgwana are three special boys who have long had to navigate a world of silence and muffled noises, but will finally receive a gift that will profoundly change their lives: the gift of sound.
They are just three of 23 recipients who will soon receive cochlear implants, thanks to the AboutSound initiative that was built on the momentum and success of the Gift of Hearing Project initiated by Miss South Africa 2024, Mia le Roux, in partnership with Martin Bester and Jacaranda FM’s Good Morning Angels.
Mia has been vocal about her personal story with profound hearing loss, receiving a cochlear implant at the age of two and living in a world that hasn’t always understood the challenges of the deaf community. She has used her public platform and every opportunity to bring awareness to the deaf and hearing impaired.
Through her latest endeavour as Strategic Partner and Ambassador of the AboutSound Initiative, Mia is championing a collaborative hearing healthcare programme dedicated to expanding access to life-changing hearing solutions for South Africans with hearing loss.
One of the initiative’s flagship projects, the AboutSound Baragwanath Partnership Project, is made possible through a unique public-private partnership between the AboutSound Initiative, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Dr Duane Mol, and The Ear & Eye Clinic. Each partner contributes essential expertise and resources—from Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital providing the cochlear implant devices, to Dr Duane Mol and The Ear & Eye Clinic donating specialist surgical expertise and theatre time, and the AboutSound Initiative coordinating the partnership and mobilising funding. Together, these contributions make it possible for more patients to receive the life-changing cochlear implant surgery that transformed Mia’s own life many years ago.
While the cochlear implants have already been secured and the patients selected for the procedures at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital had already been medically assessed, the hospital itself did not have the theatre or surgical capacity to perform the procedures within the critical time available.
So, Martin Bester, host of the Breakfast with Martin Bester show, broadcast live from Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital on Wednesday and did what he does best: rally South Africans to support a truly special cause.
The result? Martine and the Good Morning Angels raised an incredible R2.3 million to help make this life-changing initiative possible for the 23 patients to mark Mandela Day 2026!
And if that wasn’t mind-blowing enough, the Ear & Eye Clinic in Meyersdal has also come on board and agreed to perform three cochlear implant surgeries per month at a substantially reduced rate, significantly reducing the overall surgical costs to about R100,000 per procedure.
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