Help Guatemala Hear 2025- Gift of Hearing!

Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings! I hope this letter finds you all well. I just started my second and final year of my Master’s in Communication Science and Disorders to become a speech pathologist. I’ve learned a lot through my grad school journey both academically and clinically having the opportunity to work with pediatric and adult patients. In the fall of 2023, I had the opportunity to perform hearing screenings at Special Olympics, an Olympic-type sports competition for people with intellectual disabilities. I am currently completing my practicum at an elementary school and will complete a medical placement for my spring semester in Tallahassee. I am excited to announce I will be an in-patient adult rehab intern next summer at Tampa General Hospital to complete my last semester of graduate school!

On February 1st, 2025, I, along with a team from the Florida State University Speech and Hearing Clinic will depart for Panajachel, Guatemala where we will serve in the central highlands for seven days. We will be serving through an outreach organization, Porch de Salomon (porchdesalomon.org). Porch de Salomon has hosted short-term mission teams in Guatemala since 2006; in recent years over 16 each year. Due to the extreme poverty, most mission teams’ primary focus has been building small concrete block homes for impoverished indigenous families. With the lack of health care in this area, their teams have also provided free village medical and dental clinics. The FSU Speech and Hearing Clinic team, accompanied by Nova Southeastern University students and faculty, will provide much-needed audiology services and hearing aids to those in need in this area.

Sustainability is our goal with a continued partnership between Florida State University Speech and Hearing Clinic and Porch de Salomon. Poverty prevents even routine evaluation and treatment of hearing loss in the Western Highlands. Audiology services are severely needed in this area and we hope to provide both training and services. While children are the focus of many audiology mission trips, our organization will provide services for both children and adults. For the indigenous people, we hope to provide the gift of sound.

The trip is being funded entirely through donations and those going on the mission trip. Everything that will be used on the trip must be taken with us. This includes all of the medical supplies, audiology supplies, audiology equipment, hearing aid batteries, etc. Donations of money, medical supplies, and hearing aid batteries are being sought. Every penny collected will be used to directly benefit the people of Guatemala. Any unused supplies will be left with Porch de Salomon.

I am excited about the opportunity to serve, and I am seeking your support for this mission trip. I am asking for any donation you may be willing to make to help me reach my fundraising goal of $2000. Donations can be made via my fundraising website. I will also send follow-up stories and pictures from this trip.

I am excited about the opportunity to serve in Guatemala. I know you understand the value of what we will accomplish with your donation. I thank you in advance for your prayers and your financial support!

Sincerely,

Annabelle Jajuga