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Can ou imagine a life without sound?
This is the reality faced by over 300,000 people in Sri Lanka.
ManySri Lankan children cannot hear the voice of their parents or the laughter of friends.
Science also shows that a child's ability to hear profoundly impacts their development.1
Butthis is not a sad story. It’s one of hope and victory.
It will take you on a journey that united Australia and Sri Lanka in friendship through innovative hearing technology.
And technology is precisely where the story begins.
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”
- Arthur C. Clarke, English science-fiction writer
Australian Professor Graeme Clark pioneered the world’s first multi-channel cochlear implant. He created an entirely new treatment for hearing loss and founded Cochlear LTD.2 With this technology, a patient who was once completely deaf can hear and process sound!
Clark and Sri Lankan businessman, Mihira Wickramarachchi, have strikingly similar values, sharing a strong passion to use technology to help the hearing-impaired.
Mihira saw many Sri Lankans suffering with severe hearing disabilities.
Avoice within him whispered a call to action: "technology can help these people".
Compassion compelled him to answer the call, and took him on a journey that would change the lives of many people struggling with hearing disability.
The path to bring Australia's Cochlear technology to Sri Lanka was fraught with difficulty, and Mihira was not without his detractors.
Buthe rolled up his sleeves and worked through the barriers with professionals linked to both countries, even donating the first implant device and surgery in Sri Lanka.
In 2004, a Sri Lankan man woke in a hospital to a new world: one with sound in it again. A successful implant for a Sri Lankan baby girl followed soon after.
Fast-forward to today, and nearly 1,000 Sri Lankan people benefit from Australia's innovative Cochlear technology.
Plenty of friends and allies were made along the journey.
Mihira continues to serve the hearing impaired through the WISH foundation: a Sri Lankan non-profit he founded in 2006.3 The WISH foundation was honoured to host Australian sporting legend Brett Lee, an ambassador for Cochlear LTD.
This story is just one example of Australia's continued support to help the people of Sri Lanka. It demonstrates the incredible result of two countries bound intrust and partnership.
Australia and Sri Lanka are fortunate to have people like Mihira and Professor GraemeClark.
Their courage, brilliant minds, and kind hearts open us to a new world of possibility. They motivate our nations to follow in their footsteps and work together for a better world.
Whether you say "how's it going mate", or "kohomada machung" -Australia and Sri Lanka are on this journey together.
1. Shojaei E, Jafari Z, Gholami M. Effect of Early Intervention on Language Development in Hearing-Impaired Children. Iran J Otorhinolaryngol.2016;28(84):13-21.
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