Shoreham woman crosses the Sahara to help change the lives of deaf people

The charity trains clever dogs to alert deaf people to important and life-saving sounds such as smoke alarms, intruder alarms and doorbells, as well as providing emotional support and companionship to help them leave loneliness behind.

Caroline Jefferson, 53, who is profoundly deaf and has benefited personally from the assistance of two hearing dogs in her life, will be taking on the Saharan Ultra Challenge in October, a double marathon over two days trekking through the lush Draa Valley in Morocco to the sun-baked dunes of the Sahara Desert edge - plus an option to extend the last day by eight kilometres.

Caroline’s interest in walking and hiking was sparked when she took part in the Hearing Dogs Ben Nevis Challenge in 2003. Twenty years on and she is now a keen athlete, walking upwards of 20 miles a day on walk training days, combined with regular weight training and circuit-training.

Caroline explained what prompted her to take part in the event. “I’m a little bit bonkers and I enjoy a challenge! I don’t like fundraising for events that are easy – I only feel I can ask people to part with their hard-earned cash if I’m doing something genuinely tough which pushes me outside my comfort zone.

“Working as an occupational therapist, I see people every day who have lost mobility, so it’s a timely reminder of what can happen if we don’t keep ourselves active. And if you’re trying to keep yourself fit and maintain good health later in life, it helps to have a meaningful goal. This goal for me will raise funds to help others benefit from a Hearing Dog.

“I chose to complete the challenge on behalf of Hearing Dogs because I’ve experienced first-hand the difference these dogs make to people’s lives. I was lucky in that I had my family around me, but deafness is incredibly isolating and that can cause people to withdraw. If by taking part in the Saharan Challenge I can help change the life of another person with hearing loss, it will be very worthwhile.”

Caroline was born profoundly deaf after her mother contracted German Measles while pregnant. She was matched with her first hearing dog, Lizzie, a long-coated Jack Russell in the 1990’s, and when Lizzie retired, Caroline was matched with her second hearing dog, Sable, in 2001.

“As well as alerting me to sounds around the house such as the doorbell, smoke alarm or cooker timer, my dogs acted as a visual reminder to people that I was deaf when we were out and about.

“I remember my Hearing Dogs trainer saying my dogs needed to be bullet-proof as they came everywhere with me – to conferences for work and into the hospital. They worked with both dogs to make sure they were happy to go on trains, to conferences where there would be crowds of people, and be near clattering trolleys etc in the hospital.

“By the time I lost Sable, my children had grown up so they were able to help more”, Caroline explains. “I opted not to have a third hearing dog as I felt there were other people whose need was much greater than mine.”

Anyone wanting to donate to Caroline’s fundraising appeal can visit her Just Giving page.