Alejandra was born deaf in Guatemala to a poor family. She was fitted with hearing aids by medical professionals from Healing the Children, an organization that has helped over 1200 deaf children in Guatemala receive hearing aids over the past 7 years. The hearing aids have helped Alejandra learn speech sounds and communication.

2. National Volunteer
Organization Helps
Children Hear

3. Alejandra was born in
northern Guatemala,
just one hour from the
famous Mayan ruins of
Tikal. She was the first
daughter born to a
poor family.

4. Her father made only five dollars a
day working as a delivery driver for
a local lumber mill while her mother
worked as an aid at a local
elementary school.

5. Alejandra’s family soon realized that
their baby had a problem. She didn’t
cry when the loud sound of a
backfiring bus sounded in the night
or wake up from noisy firecrackers
during festivals in the village.

6. They saw an ear
specialist who
tested young
Alejandra. The
results confirmed
their worst fear.
Alejandra was
deaf.

7. Several years later,
Alejandra’s aunt heard a
radio announcement.
American doctors were
coming to help children
with ear and hearing
problems. Perhaps they
could help Alejandra.

8. After a medical
examination, Alejandra had
a hearing evaluation. The
audiologist happily told her
parents that, although
Alejandra had a severe
hearing loss, she could be
helped with hearing aids.

9. Alejandra was fitted with her first hearing aid
by a group of medical professionals from
Healing the Children in Seattle, Washington.
She now wears two hearing aids and has
learned to understand some speech sounds
to augment the sign language that she has
been taught.

10. Audiologists with Healing the Children have
been working in Guatemala for the last
seven years. They serve in seven different
towns and villages in Guatemala and have fit
over 1200 children with hearing aids.

11. If you’d like to help this great organization to
continue their mission in Guatemala and
make sure that others like Alejandra receive
the gift of hearing, please visit the Healing
the Children website at
HealingTheChildren.org