(Severna Park, MD) Back in June this summer, two representatives of Chesapeake Hearing Centers, Inc., traveled to Managua, Nicaragua, with the Starkey Hearing Foundation (SHF) to fit hearing aids on the local population. For Dr. Caroline H. Aland, director of clinical services, and her husband, Timothy P. Aland, president, it was an adventure that they may never forget. Over a three-day period, the couple fit 171 hearing aids.
“Having the chance to work with such a fantastic population was exhilarating. The people of Nicaragua were constantly smiling and excited in many cases to experience hearing aids for the first time,” stated Dr. Aland. “We worked with all age groups and just wish we could have done more!”
For her husband, it was a chance to get out from behind the desk. “I’ve been working with Chesapeake Hearing Centers for over 23 years. Most days are spent dealing with day-to-day operations. This mission really allowed me to step out and work one on one with the patients. Even with the language barrier, we knew we were connecting,” he said. “The folks with the Starkey Hearing Foundation were fantastic and I cannot say enough about Bill Austin and his crew.”
Chesapeake Hearing Centers donates a portion of the proceeds from every Starkey-manufactured hearing aid they sell to SHF. These funds are later used to pay for mission work in locations all across the globe. The overall goal is to fit 1 million aids through SHF, both here and abroad. SHF accepts donations of used aids, and they can be dropped off at any of Chesapeake’s six locations.
For more information on SHF, visit www.starkeyhearingfoundation.com; for more information on Chesapeake Hearing, visit www.helpyourhearing.com.