A Chichester duo fundraising for a 9-year-old with hearing loss | Vicky Meets

•Becky and Morgan: you are fundraising to help Mia. Will you tell me more? (Becky) Morgan and I have known Mia all her life. Mia was born with a severe to profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, but unfortunately wasn’t diagnosed until she was 15 months old.

She loves swimming, so we’re trying to raise £2,090 to buy waterproof hearing aids. When she was three her mum and I taught her to swim as she kept trying to jump into the pool on our family holiday.

Swimming is a family passion. Her mum Cristie was a lifeguard, her nana Lynne trained with Olympic swimmer Duncan Goodhew and Mia’s great nan, Hazel, is a retired swimming teacher who now, aged 93, loves swimming in the sea with her great-grandchildren.

As part of the fundraising, we have set up a GoFundMe page. Oaklands Funeral Service, where Morgan and I work, has donated £200. We have also approached other local businesses to ask for their support.

(Morgan) I am also a Temple Spa consultant and I am hosting an online raffle. The winner will receive a £50 voucher to spend on Temple Spa products, while the other £50 will be donated to Mia’s GoFundMe campaign.

Anna Jones, from Made With Love, has also done a raffle with a celebration cake as the prize, and The Regis Centre has kindly donated a family ticket to see their Christmas panto – Beauty and the Beast – for us to raffle, too.

•Will you tell me a bit about yourself, Mia? I am nine years old and I live in Fishbourne. I have two brothers. I can only hear with my hearing aids in, but I can lip read a bit. I am also starting to learn British Sign Language.

At school my teacher wears a microphone that is connected to my hearing aids. Waterproof hearing aids will really help me.

I really love swimming, but on holiday I felt very upset because I couldn’t hear people talking to me in the pool. We didn’t think there was such a thing as waterproof hearing aids, but my Mum found something in the National Deaf Children’s Society magazine about them.

•So getting waterproof hearing aids will make a big difference? (Becky) Yes with Phonak Audeo Paradise Life P90 Waterproof Hearing Aids, Mia can join in with friends and family in the water, making her feel less isolated and more connected. There is also a safety aspect to consider – at the moment she can’t hear anyone giving instructions or warnings when she is in the water.

Waterproof hearing aids will make all the difference to Mia.

•How can people donate? (Morgan) To donate, visit the GoFundMe page ‘Mia's dream of waterproof hearing aids!’ – gofund.me/98e692a2

Donations and raffle prizes can also be received, during office hours, at Oaklands Funeral Service, 4, The Ridgeway, Parklands, Chichester. Call 01243 773114; oaklandsfuneralservice.com

See also – A mascot for St Wilfrid’s Hospice | Vicky Meets