The Bayat Foundation’s co-founders Dr. Ehsanullah Bayat and his wife Fatema Laya Bayat, have received the 2018 global humanitarian award from Starkey Hearing Foundation.

The award was presented to Dr. Bayat and Mrs. Bayat during the annual “So the World May Hear” Awards Gala on Sunday (July 15)  in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

The previous recipients of the global humanitarian award include Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner and Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

 “Receiving this award from Starkey Hearing Foundation is a great honor for my wife, Fatema Laya, and myself,” said Dr. Ehsanollah Bayat, the Chairman of The Bayat Foundation.

“In 2006, when my wife and I started The Bayat Foundation, we had a simple, but powerful wish—we wanted to nourish the lives of Afghans by providing essential healthcare, education, and clean water—the basic necessities of life,” Dr. Bayat said.

He stressed that the “strong and steadfast” partnership between The Bayat Foundation, and The Starkey Hearing Foundation, has brought the Gift of Hearing to thousands of at risk Afghans.

“And these missions are a beautiful example of how, by working together with committed partners such as the Starkey team, we can help Afghans live better and healthier lives,” he added.

Meanwhile, Bayat Foundation President Mrs. Fatema Laya Bayat said that The Bayat Foundation and Starkey Hearing Foundation have brought hearing, healing and hope to thousands of Afghans, living in every part of the country.

“When we nourish people by helping them to hear, to learn, and to live healthier lives, then, people are able to flourish and build a better tomorrow—not just for themselves—but for their families and for Afghanistan,” Mrs. Bayat said.

“When we say, So That World May Hear, we are also declaring So That The World May Hope, and So That The World May Love,  and So That Our World May Be Transformed,” Mrs. Bayat said.

The “So the World May Hear” Awards Gala—among the most popular and successful events of the philanthropic year—was attended by an audience of the world’s most influential, successful and beloved artists, entertainers, philanthropists and political leaders.

 At the event, former U.S. President Bill Clinton also made a guest appearance.

“Most of us are here because we think — among other things — that we are better off doing something good for somebody else than tearing them down,” Clinton said. “We believe in holding hands and taking a flying leap of faith instead of trying to drive people apart.” 

Other celebrity guests included actor Forest Whitaker, musicians Alice Cooper, Robbie Krieger and Don Felder and comedians Billy Crystal and Sinbad.

Starkey Hearing Foundation, a public charity founded by William F. Austin, gives the gift of hearing to people in need throughout the world. 

The global humanitarian award—Starkey Hearing Foundation’s highest commendation—celebrates two of the Bayat Foundation’s most vital initiatives: the joint Bayat-Starkey Afghanistan Hearing Care Missions, which have brought the gift of hearing to over 4,000 Afghans over the past four years, as well as the Bayat Foundation’s tremendous success in providing Education, Healthcare, Clean Water, Emergency and Family Assistance to millions of Afghans since 2006.

Since 2014, The Bayat Foundation and Starkey Hearing Foundation have conducted an annual hearing care mission in Afghanistan. Working from specially constructed mobile care centers in Herat, Mazar-I-Sharif, Kabul City and other Afghan cities and regions, joint teams of Bayat-Starkey Hearing Care Specialists, have restored the hearing of over 4,000 Afghans, who were affected by hearing loss or other forms of hearing impairment.