On Mite Project 4 - Hearing Aids for Honduras, we had the pleasure of meeting Rodger. Rodger, a 17-year-old Honduran young man, came to one of the medical clinics established for medical outreach to the poor. Rodger was a good-looking young man, vibrant with a humble demeanor and a bright smile. Rodger suffered from hearing loss, a condition he had experienced from infancy.
At the clinic, Rodger met Dr. David Parsons, an accomplished medical surgeon, and specialist in hearing problems. For many years Dr. Parsons had participated in these medical outreaches. He even started a non-profit to give people in poverty medical care. One of Dr. Parsons's services at the missionary medical clinic was a hearing checkup to determine if a patient would benefit from hearing aids.
In fact, Dr. Parsons and those hearing aids, particularly designed for third-world conditions, were the reason Mite went to Honduras. We wanted to provide our donors the opportunity to impact the lives of people who needed hearing aids but could not afford such devices. In walked Rodger, a young man who, at no fault of his own, was unable to hear and would, as diagnosed through the checkup, benefit significantly from the hearing aids. We got to see Rodger receive the hearing aids, and in such a beautiful moment, we got to see him experience hearing for the first time in his life. He cried. His mother cried. We cried! What an incredible experience! You can see it too via our Project 4 Celebration Video.
Those hearing aids that gave Rodger his first opportunity to hear cost $135. Less than a Kate Spade Purse! That is what a Mite can do! Thank you, Miter donor community, for giving Rodger an opportunity he would have never had except that you were willing to Give Your Mite.