About Us

Help The Children Hear - Our Beginnings

It was another sticky, sweltering, breezeless Argentinean February afternoon. Men and women gathered around a table at the local Shell station (the social gathering spot) . Together they shared a refreshing bottle of coke and coffee in an effort to say farewell to two new American friends visiting a family member participating in the Rotary Youth Exchange Program.

As they prepared for departure, one man, Tony, grasped the American's hands, lovingly, as is customary in Latin culture, and managed to mumble, "katy, pleeze, help us help our cheeldren?"

With those simple words and that charming, captivating smile, Help the Children Hear was born. Originally conceived by Tony and his club years before, the plan of procuring hearing aids in the United States for the local public children's hospital now had momentum. The northwest region of Argentina is laden with children unable to hear due to illness, genetic deficiencies and impoverished conditions. Lack of aid, money and medical support have hindered the future of Argentina, resulting in learning, growth and development falling one step behind other children of the world.

Through District 7470's InFlight publication, Dr. David Gurian, Audiologist, picked up the plea for help. Today Tony, Katherine, David and many other Rotarians share in this vision. By utilizing the Rotary Network and gathering available resources, this project was created and has evolved into its own 501(c)(3) not for profit corporation. Now, five years after that farewell meeting, over 500 hearing aids have been sent to the Children's Hospital del Nino Jesus in Tucuman, Argentina. Over 150 aids have been routed to the neighboring province of Mendoza. Branches of Help the Children Hear have extended into Chile and Bolivia.

Through the Rotary Youth Exchange Program, the Rotary Foundation Matching Grants, the commitment and dedication to service, clubs and organizations all over North and South America have shared in reaching out to the children of our world. All are invited and encouraged to be a part of HTCH simply by organizing a hearing aid collection box in your town. Sharing information about this project is our passion and, with your help, we hope to continue changing lives, one child at a time.

Amanda M. Abbiate
Rotary Youth Exchange Student 1998-1999
Tucuman, Argentina