To Give… Or Not To Give

K. Ray Katz
July 31, 2011

I recently read a brief news article about Starkey’s continuing effort to give hearing to those in need.  This time it was in Palestine. When reading the article I could not help but think back to when I did similar work (well – since I enjoyed it so much, it’s hard to think of it as work) in Mexico.

I'd be happier if this was a real fish

It’s an old cliché that he (or she) who gives, receives back more than was given.  I can truly attest to that fact. In years gone by, I traveled by small plane to Mexico as a member of the Flying Samaritans.  Sometimes we only had two planes going down, at other times it could be ten or twelve.  Once a month, eight months out of the year for eight years, I provided hearing testing and hearing aids to some of the poorest and most gracious people it was ever my pleasure to meet.  Besides Audiology services, our group provided Dentistry, Optical services, General Medicine, Obstetrics, Oncology, Minor Surgery, and many other services to a people who could only repay us with a smile or some home made ceviche. (Ceviche – fish and spices chopped and cooked in lime juice.)

These people, many of them, Seri Indians walked for hours across the Sonoran Desert, only to sit in line for many more hours outside a makeshift clinic where I did my testing and fitting.  While waiting, the kids usually had a soccer game going on out in the courtyard.

The hearing aids, batteries, and earmolds I dispensed were provided through the generosity of half a dozen different manufacturers.  We all know what it is to see a person’s face light up when a hearing aid is turned on for the first time. This happened time and time again as my translator (from English to Spanish) and my translator’s translator (Spanish to Seri) was able to converse with these patients, ranging in age from five to ninety.

The village where I worked was named Bahia Kino (Kino Bay).  It was a fishing village sitting on the Sea of Cotez (Gulf of California). I did my testing standing, with my audiometer on a makeshift gurney and my patient sitting on the only chair in the Cruz Rojo (Red Cross) building.  I was only there one day a month, but when I got home the next evening, (if thunderstorms didn’t close the mountain pass near Nogales) it felt like I had been away for a month (and that was a good thing).  I say all of this in the hope that some of you who are reading this will feel inspired to get involved with Starkey’s efforts, or that of some other group such as Doctors Without Borders or a church group in the U.S. or abroad.  I promise you that once you have participated, you will want to do it again, even though you will have to pay your own way.  You will remember it for many, many years to come.

Has anyone done this type of volunteering, and if so, would you share your experiences with us?

For professionals located in Arizona or California who are interested, the last I heard, The Flying Samaritans still do their work at over twenty different clinics on the Baja in Mexico.

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