About Us

Help the Children Hear is purely a child of Rotary and kind hearts. It began with a vision for an international service project to aid the underprivileged children of northwest Argentina. Tony Muntaner, then secretary of the Rotary Club of Tucuman Sur, created a perspective matching grant service project to share with a Rotary club in the United States. This project would raise money to buy hearing aids in the United States, where the cost ranges from US$75-$300 compared to the US$1000-$2000 cost per aid in Argentina. These hearing aids would then be delivered to children with hearing deficiencies at Hospital del Nino Jesus.

Through the use of resources and family, Tony passed on this information and packets to his son Pablo who traveled to Blairstown, New Jersey as a Rotary International Exchange student. Pablo presented the proposed project throughout the year, yet nothing took root. However, Pablo did influence his host sister to travel to Argentina as an exchange student like he had done. Amanda Abbiate spent the year from August 1998 to July 1999 in Tucuman, living with Tony, Pablo and the other 6 members of their family. Finally, when Katherine Abbiate Visited her daughter that February, Tony asked, pleaded, and pulled at Kathy's heartstrings to bring the project back to her Rotary club in Blairstown and to get the project rolling.

For the second time, Help the Children Hear made an appearance in the United States. This time, articles were published in town and Rotary district 7470 newspapers asking for help and interest. David Gurian, a fellow Rotarian and audiologist from the Caldwells, New Jersey was immediately interested, and the paperwork began. Kathy and David spent months going over and submitting paperwork to apply for a Rotary International matching grant. Meanwhile Tony's club and the two New Jersey clubs worked at raising the initial funds. David also worked on creating a great contact within Starkey Laboratories, a manufacturer of hearing aids, and an organization that sends missions to various parts of the world. Through Starkey, Help the Children Hear had an official hearing aid bank where we could send in old, broken hearing aids which would be refurbished and sent to Argentina.

By April of 2000, the matching grant had been approved and Kathy and Amanda were on their way to Hospital del Nino Jesus with 200 hearing aids to hand deliver. Now, Help the Children Hear is a non-profit, tax exempt organization supported by Rotary district 7470. Tony, Kathy and David, along with members of all their Rotary clubs, have attended and presented the project to several clubs, organizations, district conferences and International conferences. Over 300 more hearing aids have been sent along with batteries and some molds. Dr. Paez and his staff at Hospital del Nino Jesus have been working with families from all over Tucuman, Salta and other northwestern provinces to ensure they adjust well to their new sense. Hearing aids have also been delivered to children in Bolivia and Chile, as the project expands.

Hopefully, as time goes on, Help the Children Hear Inc will continue to grow and prosper, reaching children in all corners of the globe, securing a brighter future for all.