About me
When Maria Nieves Santos-Greaves migrated to Canada she thought of starting her own clinic, not only for financial security, but also in her personal desire to provide compassionate and complete quality care to those longing to hear better. After all, she herself became hearing-impaired due to medication errors by a health care practitioner. With perseverance and a strong determination to succeed, Maria Santos-Greaves built and nurtured Surrey Hearing Care Inc. - now with a third clinic, and plans for more. Possibly the only immigrant woman in Canada who owns a hearing clinic company, Maria said, “I am very passionate about my calling in hearing”. More people, young and old of various races can now hear and listen better through the quality of service Maria and her staff provides. The slogan of her company “Helping You Hear the World” says it all. Through the years Maria has made sure that the company mobile hearing clinic van goes and provides free hearing tests to mainstream, visible minorities and First Nations wherever the need arises. Surrey Hearing Care has supported a multitude of immigrant groups’ outreach: Filipinos, South Asians, and those of a collective multicultural participation across the Lower Mainland in British Columbia, not just Surrey alone. In addition, Maria actively joins almost every year the Canadian Medical Mission Society - contributing her time, expertise, and resources in helping those with no access to health care in the Philippines. For her tireless efforts to help and give back to the community, she was voted across the Canada one of the Top 25 Immigrants in 2015. Maria Santos-Greaves was also a 2015 finalist in the Surrey Women in Business Award Entrepreneur category in British Columbia, a 2014 Maharlika Awardee for Community Service in Canada, and a Rotary Foundation Paul Harris Fellow Awardee. “I grew up a Filipina in the Philippines. By this I mean my heart and soul will never forget my roots, my beloved home country that molded me to become the woman I am today, an entrepreneur in my adopted and appreciated new homeland of Canada. Philippine society I think is one of the most gender-progressive in the world. In our courteous way, we have worked side by side with our male counterparts who have respected our capabilities and contributions in life and to our nation. Our influence as Filipinas is ongoing, marked with progress, and responsibility wherever we set foot.”