Sudan Health Fair: SpeechEasy

Robin Matari (left), managing director of Arab Millennium Trading and Niranjan Shetty, logistics manager.

Robin Matari, managing director of Arab Millennium Trading (www.amt-uae.com), said his company has “exclusive rights” to distribute SpeechEasy in Africa and the Middle East. It has been selling the product for the past 18 months and exhibited in Africa for the first time at the Sudanese fair.
SpeechEasy (www.speecheasy.com) is an American-developed product that is inserted into the ear of someone who stutters. Developers say it is “not a cure” but it has been tested and proven to transform inhibited stuttering into more fluent chatter.

SpeechEasy looks like a small plastic hearing aid. Once placed inside the ear it plays a bit of a mind game with whoever's wearing it.

“When someone speaks while wearing a SpeechEasy device, their words are digitally replayed in their ear with a very slight delay and frequency modification. As a result, the brain perceives that it is speaking in unison with another person,” informs the technical data about the device.

“This perception of ‘speaking in unison' creates the choral effect, thus reducing or even eliminating the stutter.”
Matari says his company assists at least 20 new patients monthly. And he's hoping that spreading into Africa will lead to more business.

“It feels good to be able to help people. One woman phoned me and told me she was so happy. She wasn't stuttering anymore and she's planning to get married,” was the made-for-TV-speak from Matari.

Niranjan Shetty, the trading company's logistics manager, launched a DVD on his laptop showcasing at the fair the SpeechEasy TV coverage. The popular Oprah Winfrey and Good Morning America shows in the United States are among the shows that have featured SpeechEasy. Now, for Shetty, comes the road show to find “dealers who can do the selling for us”.
Matari says the company will also approach rehabilitation centres at hospitals as it specialises in products for persons with disabilities. It sells wheelchairs, stretchers and beds and other physiotherapeutic and rehabilitative products. To date, its core business has been in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

“There's business potential in Sudan and we know there are people here who need our products. We also need to educate people about rehabilitation. You can't have a hospital without a good rehabilitation department,” said Matari.
“People with disabilities don't have to sit at home. We provide them with equipment that allows them to live more normal lives.”

The second Sudan International Health, Medical and Medicine Fair (http://www.sudanhealth.com) ran at the Khartoum International Fairground from October 31 until November 5.