L to R - Isa Rabeea, Omar Alsharif, Dr. Ahmed Jamal, Ahmed A. Rahim, Essa Al-Jalahma and Adel Al-Shirawi

Shamil Bank, a leading Bahrain-based Islamic commercial bank and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ithmaar Bank, purchased sophisticated hearing aids to help two children regain their ability to hear.

The two hearing aids, which were purchased at a cost of BD22,000, were presented by the Shamil Bank Deputy Chief Executive, Ahmed Abdul Rahim, to the Bahraini Society for Cochlear Implantation and Hearing Impairment President Dr. Ahmed Jamal at the Shamil Bank headquarters in Seef.

“Since our establishment in 2005, the Society has been working towards eliminating all barriers faced by people with hearing disabilities,” said Dr. Jamal. “We are committed to working with people suffering from hearing disabilities, and helping integrate them into the community. Fortunately, the people of Bahrain are, general, sensitive to and very understanding of the unique challenges faced by people with hearing disabilities. The main approach to helping children with hearing disabilities to better integrate into the community at large involve the implantation of a small, sophisticated hearing aid in the cochlear which allows them to regain their hearing ability, and then providing them with hearing and speech training,” he said.

“We have more than 55 people, including 21 children, on the Society’s waiting list for Cochlear Implantation,” said Dr. Jamal. “Shamil Bank’s generous financial support will allow some of these people the opportunity to hear once again. In doing so, it will allow them to hear like everyone else, allowing them to integrate right back into society, and taking away any limitations or sense of handicap that would have otherwise been holding them back,” he said.

“The Society will present the two hearing aids to the Cochlear Implantation team of the Ministry of Health, which will do the implantation to two children as per the waiting list,” said Dr. Jamal.

The donation was made in line with Shamil Bank’s long-standing commitment to playing a real and meaning full role in the community.

“As a leading Islamic commercial bank, we have a responsibility towards the community,” said Abdul Rahim. “It is a commitment we take very seriously, and we are delighted to be able to contribute in such a direct way towards helping improve the quality of life for children with hearing disabilities,” he said.

“Shamil Bank had, in the past, made significant contribution in support of various community-related initiatives,” said Abdul Rahim. “These included charity funds and community programmes, cultural and educational initiatives and medical and scientific projects – all of which have contributed towards supporting the economic, social and cultural development of the Kingdom,” he said.

The reception was attended by the Bahraini Society for Cochlear Implantation and Hearing Impairment President Isa Rabeea and the General Secretary of the Society and the Senior Speech Language Pathologist Omar Alsharif. Also present were Shamil Bank Senior Manager, Administration Adel Al-Shirawi and Shamil Bank Senior Manager, Human Resources Essa Al-Jalahma.