Imagine discovering that your precious child has a severe hearing loss and can’t hear you. As devastating as that news is, we are very fortunate in this country that if we couldn’t afford to buy hearing aids for our child there are numerous agencies that could help us get the help our child needs.

Now imagine that you live in a developing country like the Dominican Republic. There is no social safety net and you try to support your family on about $100 a month. You live in a one-bedroom shack with eight other family members and no indoor plumbing. There is no way to stretch a budget that can’t even cover the basic necessities to also cover hearing aids for your child. You would feel pretty helpless and hopeless wouldn’t you? But then you hear that the Rotary Club in town is inviting you to bring your child to be evaluated for hearing aids that Rotary is providing. You go, your child is tested and found to have a severe loss in both ears, but one that can be helped by hearing aids. The audiologists make ear molds and put hearing aids on your child. He hears your voice and turns around to see you. They get him to say “mama” or “papa” to you and you think that is the sweetest sound you’ve ever heard. It won’t be easy and there is a lot of hard work ahead, but now your child has a chance. He has a chance to learn to speak. He has a chance for a better education. He has a chance for a better job and a better life. All because of a wonderful group of people called Rotarians.

The Duluth Rotary Club started a hearing aid project in the Dominican Republic in 1998. Laura Dennison, past president of the club, started volunteering with Orphanage Outreach in the Dominican Republic in 1996. She went to a Rotary meeting in the capitol of Santo Domingo and when they found out she was an audiologist they urged her to contact the Rotary Club in Higuey who wanted to help the deaf school in their community but had no resources. One thing led to another and since her first visit to Higuey Hearts for Hearing has fit over 2,000 hearing aids with a retail value of over $1,000,000. The Rotary Club of Duluth has written several matching grants with the Rotary Foundation and had projects all over the Dominican Republic. They have now applied for a 3H grant in order to set up a permanent hearing program in that country.

There are two ways that you can help. Collecting old hearing aids can be a big help. Behind-the-ear types of hearing aids that are still functioning can often be used directly. In-the-ear types of hearing aids are sent in for salvage value and the money is used to buy batteries and earmold materials. The second way to help is, of course, money. It costs about $150 to buy one hearing aid for a child. If you or your club would like to make a donation, send your checks to the Duluth Rotary Club and write Hearts for Hearing in the subject line. You may send donations to Audiology Associates of Georgia, 4145 Lawrenceville Hwy., Ste. 10A, Lilburn, GA 30047.