THE BAYAT FOUNDATION, STARKEY HEARING FOUNDATION ANNOUNCE SECOND ANNUAL JOINT MISSION TO BRING THE GIFT OF HEARING TO MORE THAN 1,000 AT RISK AFGHANS

The Bayat Foundation Also A Major Sponsor of 2015 Starkey Hearing Foundation Gala Which Raised 9 Million Dollars For Free Hearing Care

Kabul Afghanistan—July 30, 2015—Founded by Ehsanollah Bayat, a leading philanthropist and entrepreneur, The Bayat Foundation—Afghanistan’s preeminent charitable foundation providing Healthcare, Education and Economic Development assistance to Afghan citizens—announced today its second annual joint mission with the Starkey Hearing Foundation, to bring the gift of hearing to more than 1,000 Afghans in Autumn 2015.

Hearing-impaired Afghans from throughout the country will receive hearing aids and medical treatment, enabling many of the patients to hear clearly for the first time in their lives. In addition to the on-site medical mission, the Bayat Foundation and the Starkey Hearing Foundation will also provide each hearing aid recipient with additional information about the proper care and maintenance of their hearing aid, additional sets of batteries and follow up treatment.

The Bayat Foundation was also a Centurion Sponsor of Starkey’s “So That The World May Hear,” Annual Gala, held on 26 July at The St. Paul River Center, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. Over 1600 guests attended the event, which raised nine-million dollars to support the Starkey Hearing Foundation’s Hearing Care Missions throughout the world. VIP guests attending the gala included former US Presidents George W. Bush and William Jefferson Clinton. Former President Clinton delivered an address at the gala, and Former President Bush delivered an address to the attendees and received an award from the Foundation.

“Hearing impairment affects over 360 million people in the world today, and in Afghanistan, those most affected by the scourge of deafness are thousands of Afghan women, children and mothers,” said Ehsanollah Bayat, Chairman of the Bayat Group and Founder of the Bayat Foundation. “Each year, our joint medical missions provide thousands of Afghans with the powerful, precious gift of hearing,” Mr. Bayat said.

“We’re honored to partner with the Starkey Hearing Foundation in this vital work, which helps us achieve the most sacred part of our own mission: empowering Afghans with the care and knowledge so that they can use the fullest measure of their God given talents to help build an Afghanistan that is peaceful, prosperous and filled with promise for all of her citizens,” said Mrs. Fatema Bayat, the Co-Founder of The Bayat Foundation.

About the Bayat Foundation:

Since 2005, the US-based Bayat Foundation, a 501 c (3) charitable organization, has promoted the well-being of the Afghan people. Founded and directed by Ehsanollah Bayat and Fatema Bayat, the Foundation has contributed to more than 300 projects dedicated to improving the quality of life for the youth, women, poor, and elderly of Afghanistan; including construction of 13 maternity hospitals that have now treated over 1,000,000 mothers and babies.  Projects have included the construction of new facilities and sustainable infrastructure in needy regions, and the promotion of health, education, economic, and cultural programs. In addition to his charitable initiatives, Ehsanollah Bayat founded Afghan Wireless (AWCC) in 2002, which was the first GSM wireless and Internet Service Provider in Afghanistan, and later established Ariana Radio and Television Network (ATN), which includes Ariana Radio (FM 93.5). For more information, please email info@bayatfoundation.org.

About Starkey Hearing Foundation:

Starkey Hearing Foundation uses hearing as a vehicle to reflect caring and change lives around the world. Disabling hearing loss affects more than 360 million people, including 32 million children, worldwide, yet many do not have access to the hearing devices that can help them. Starkey Hearing Foundation fits and gives more than 100,000 hearing aids annually, and as a member of President Clinton’s Global Initiative, it has pledged to fit one million hearing aids this decade. In addition to giving the gift of hearing through worldwide hearing missions, Starkey Hearing Foundation promotes hearing health awareness and education through the Listen Carefully campaign and provides hearing instruments to low-income Americans through the Hear Now program. For more information on Starkey Hearing Foundation, visit www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org.