March 3rd is a special day that is near and dear to our hearts every year – World Hearing Day. World Hearing Day is a day dedicated to raising awareness on preventing hearing loss and promoting ear and hearing healthcare. This year’s World Hearing Day theme was “Hearing for Life.” Hearing loss should never limit anyone from achieving what their heart desires.
Although we treat every day like World Hearing Day, our teams made an incredible impact during the weeks leading up to and on the day of March 3rd. We held Phase 2 missions in Kenya, Uganda, the Philippines, Mexico, Panama, Guyana and Jordan in the days and weeks leading up to World Hearing Day. In addition, we held AfterCare services in many countries – Bolivia, Mauritania, Afghanistan, Armenia, El Salvador and Peru, just to name a few.
On World Hearing Day, we held two Phase 2 missions, one in Kenya and one in Jamaica, along with holding many AfterCare sessions worldwide. In Jamaica, we served over 325 patients and in Kenya, we served over 150 patients. We are proud to say that we changed countless lives during this short amount of time.
One special mission patient story from our Kenya World Hearing Day mission was that of five-year-old Alivia. She was a spunky and energetic young girl. She was born with hearing loss but lit up after being fit with hearing aids, so much so that our team caught her dancing along to some music. She was even kind enough to help comfort other kids during their hearing aid fitting.
At our Jamaica World Hearing Day mission, we met an older gentleman named Henry. He was very shy when he first arrived at the mission site. After being fit, we could see by his expressions that he was filled with joy. Now, with the help of his hearing aids, he is hoping to become employed and gain some financial stability.