Some 80 hearing-impaired children and adolescents from the lakeside area were fitted with hearing aids last week, concluding an intensive social service campaign spearheaded by the Texas-based Hearing Head for Latin America organization and the Guadalajara non-profit association Salud, Cultura, Desarrollo y Ecología (Sacudee).
Local patient recruitment, pre-screening and logistics were jointly handled by the city’s social development chief Felipe Ramirez Torres, staff at DIF Chapala and volunteers for the Lakeside School for Children with Special Needs, formerly known as the Jocotepec School for the Deaf.
Founded in 2002, Hearing Aid For Latin America sends teams of audiologists, audioprosthologists and trained assistants to Mexico, Central and South America to provide underprivileged children and young adults with free acoustic devices and the gift of hearing.
“We are a loose-knit group dedicated to forming partnerships with communities in order to provide hearing care to the needy,” says board member Mark Brumback. “It is very important to get kids fitted as early as possible so they can develop speech abilities.”Sacudee is a private organization of volunteer professionals who promote diverse health, culture, community development and ecology projects throughout Jalisco.
Since 2009, the two groups have partnered for hearing aid distribution campaigns in Guadalajara, Zapopan, El Arenal and Arandas, prior to the November 19 clinic held at Chapala’s waterfront Malecon.
As a result of the effort, to date 1,000 Jalisco youngsters have been tested for hearing disorders, with more than 1,200 hearing aids fitted to those qualifying for the service. Patients who receive the equipment are usually supplied with sufficient batteries to keep them working for a full year.
The lakeside hearing aid campaign was achieved with special assistance from Lake Chapala Society executive director Terry Vidal in linking up participating organizations, the Rotary Club of Jocotepec in transportation coordination and Kim Everest from Restaurant Number Four, who catered a fabulous dinner for the visitors from Texas.
A follow-up clinic will be scheduled next year to check up on the proper functioning of the devices and the progress made by the recipients.