Bolivia:

MEETING THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN

WITH HEARING LOSS IN BOLIVIA

Childhood deafness is often a direct result of poverty.    Babies often loose their hearing due to high fevers, the result of late treatment for serious illnesses.  The lack of competent and affordable health care professionals in both rural and urban areas in poor countries is the predominant cause of this disability.

Children in Bolivia with disabilities are often hidden away in their homes.  Social contact and education are denied, thus the possibility of personal development. Hearing disabilities are no exception.   In fact, the facilities for helping children with hearing loss have been, until recently, exceedingly inadequate.

HEARING CAMPAIGN

In September 2004 the first hearing campaign was initiated to identify children with hearing loss in the La Paz area of Bolivia.  

Our Hearing Campaign took place over the course of 3 and a half months and consisted of a team of 3 professionals and 1 volunteer making 27 visits to health centers in 16 districts of two cities and 6 villages.  Local radio and television stations provided frequent reminders to the public as to where we would be at any given time during the campaign.  Hundreds of children with different disabilities were seen and approximately two hundred children were diagnosed with hearing loss. 

NEEDS FULFILLMENT FOR CHILDEN IDENTIFIED WITH HEARING LOSS

After this campaign, our volunteers focused on attending to the needs of the recently identified children with hearing loss. 

• We offered bus transportation for the children who needed this service in order to attend the special-needs school.  The attendance at our school tripled overnight. 
• Find a source of affordable hearing aids for these children
• Through the help of Airline Ambassadors International, and alumni-volunteers that received our call for help, the Amigos del Hogar Hearing Program now receives donations of used analog hearing aids from both the U.K. and the U.S.A.   We continue to look for stronger digital hearing aids to further help the children who could benefit from this more modern technology.

COSTS

All of these services are provided at a cost.  Many of the professionals work at a very minimum for their time, however, the cost of providing these services is something that we are currently very concerned about in order to continue.   Any donations go to the direct benefit of children with hearing loss.  There are no administrative fees incurred.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

If you would like to help us to continue this work by making a donation, please contact Airline Ambassadors International or click the donate button link and indicate “Bolivia-Hearing Loss Campaign” in the memo field.

You can learn more about the Hearing Program of Amigos del Hogar by clicking on the Volunteer ‘button’ on our web-site:  www.artesaniasorata.com

Or contact:

Diane Bellomy                                                                                                         Paula Moran  

Amigos del Hogar Volunteer Group                                                                        Mission Coordinator - Bolivia

cnsorata@yahoo.com                                                                                             stonefelix@attg.net

Hearing Program                                                                                                    Airline Ambassadors International

La Paz, Bolivia                                                                                                         www.airlineamb.org

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