For three-year-old Krit Bhatiya, the world has begun to sound different. The laughter of family members, the voices around him, and the rhythms of daily life — sounds many take for granted — are now part of his growing world. Krit is among the 10 beneficiaries of Gift of Sound, a cochlear implant project undertaken by the Rotary Club of Mumbai Bravehearts, RID 3141, in partnership with the Rotary Club of Baneshwor, RID 3292, through a global grant.
“The cochlear implant programme has changed our lives. It has given our child a chance to hear and speak,” said Krit’s mother Nirali, echoing the emotions of many families touched by the initiative.
The surgeries were performed at the Criticare Asia Hospital in March 2026. The beneficiaries ranged from an 11-month-old infant to a 17-year-old teenager. All of them have now undergone the first stage of switch-on therapy and have begun auditory verbal therapy to help them develop speech and language skills.
The project was initiated after club members learnt about the alarming gap in access to cochlear implant surgeries for underprivileged children. “We came to understand the magnitude of this need through our club member Dr Sanjay Helale, who has nearly three decades of experience working with cochlear implant patients,” says past president Khuzem Sakarwala. “For most families, the surgery is financially impossible. Rotary saw an opportunity to step in and transform lives.”
According to Dr Helale, head of ENT and Cochlear Implant Programme at Criticare Asia Hospital, early intervention is crucial. “Hearing is the foundation of speech and language development. If hearing loss goes untreated during the early years, it can severely impact a child’s cognitive, emotional and social growth,” he explains.
Nearly four out of every 1,000 children born require cochlear implants, yet only around five per cent currently receive them. The remaining 95 per cent children often grow up unable to hear or speak, especially when their families cannot afford the expensive treatment.
A cochlear implant surgery in a private hospital can cost anywhere between ₹8–10 lakh. While some government hospitals offer support schemes, access remains limited and success rates are often inconsistent because of infrastructural constraints. Criticare Asia Hospital, known for its expertise in ENT care and cochlear implant surgeries, performs the entire process at a subsidised cost of around ₹6 lakh per patient for this Rotary programme.
The initiative covers not just the surgery, but also the extensive rehabilitation that follows. “The surgery is only the beginning. The real success lies in post-operative therapy, consistent follow-up and family support. Without that, the child cannot fully develop speech and listening skills,” says Dr Helale.
The programme therefore includes pre and post-operative care, speech and language therapy, auditory verbal therapy (AVT), counselling and long-term monitoring. To ensure professional rehabilitation support, the club has signed an MoU with Education Audiology and Research (EAR), an institution dedicated to educating children with hearing impairment. EAR also offers online AVT sessions for beneficiaries living outside Mumbai. The AVT process may extend to 3–4 months for adults and up to three years for pre-lingual children.
The selection of beneficiaries is done with meticulous care. Children and adults suspected to have hearing loss are first referred by ENT specialists or audiologists. After medical assessments at Criticare Hospital, the hospital’s medical social worker evaluates the financial condition of families before the cases are reviewed by the club members.
“Rotarians and Anns personally visit the children during surgery and recovery. We wanted families to feel they are not alone in this journey. The emotional support matters as much as the financial assistance,” says Sakarwala.
The club aims to complete 200 cochlear implant surgeries over the next two years under this GG project. Awareness generation has also become an important part of the mission. In December 2025, the club organised Sound of Music, a musical fundraiser that highlighted the need for cochlear implant support. A documentary film on the project created by Sakarwala and Adi Pocha has further helped spread awareness.
“Every child deserves the opportunity to experience the world through sound. When a child begins to hear and speak for the first time, it changes not just one life, but the future of an entire family,” says Dr Helale.
RCs Bombay Bay View, Queen’s Necklace and Mumbai Elegant have supported this project. Another GG for the programme is almost through to support more children with hearing disorder, says Sakarvala.
Other GG projects
RC Mumbai Bravehearts is driving three other healthcare GG projects — addressing Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) in infants, for which the treatment cost per child is around ₹35,000; paediatric heart surgeries (at a subsidised fee of ₹1.75 lakh) at the Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Centre for Child Heart Care; and menstrual hygiene awareness and distribution of reusable sanitary packs for women and girls.