Four-year-old Lola Medjekane-Mayolin, from Sheffield, wants other deaf children to have the same opportunities as her and alongside her family is launching #LoudShirtDay 2021 – the annual fundraising event for Auditory Verbal UK the charity which supported Lola to learn to listen and speak.

Loud Shirt Day will take place with a wave of colour across the country on October 22 and will encourage families, schools, businesses and individuals to get LOUD and raise money to create a sound future for deaf children.

There are 7,200 deaf children under the age of 5 in the UK, only 8% of whom can currently access Auditory Verbal therapy. Funds raised from Loud Shirt Day will ensure more deaf children can access AVUK’s life-changing support.

Lola has been selected as a 2021 Loud Shirt Day ambassador after committing to get as loud as she can with friends and family - not forgetting the family dog Bobby.

Lola’s mum Gina said: “When we were told about Lola’s hearing loss our dreams were shattered. Marc’s family are French and mine are Spanish. We had planned to speak both French and Spanish with Lola and hoped she would share our passions for music and dance.

“After much research we came across AVUK and with the help of their bursary scheme we started fortnightly sessions at their London centre. The long and tiring journey was worth it. Not only did AVUK provide us with the skills to communicate effectively with our daughter but also the motivation to keep going.”

To sign up visit https://www.avuk.org/loud-shirt-day-uk

Gina Mayolin