moses and starfish

His name is Moses. He’s adorable, sweet and loving. The first CTT heart he stole belonged to Team 3 member Kaley. That was back in 2009.

Kaley noticed that Moses couldn’t hear very well. She taught him how to sign the alphabet. They hung close whenever the team was at the orphanage. When we left Uganda, Moses gave Kaley some rubber bands so that she would not forget him. He had been wearing them on his wrist and wanted her to do the same when she went back to the US.

We’ve learned a lot about Moses since that trip. All of our hearts have been stolen by him now.

Team 4 member Avis began the process of teaching him sign language this past December. He was like a sponge. He soaked it up. He memorized the books she brought with her, then wanted more.

Moses has some very devoted buddies, each of whom looks out for him and makes sure he is able to make his way through the day in spite of his rapidly progressing hearing loss. Antwain and Francis have got his back. It would warm your heart to watch the boys together. It certainly cooked mine.

Recently CTT Liaison Melissa took Moses into Kampala for a complete hearing exam. Probably his first ever. He didn’t fare so well. The audiologist reported that Moses borders between significantly and profoundly deaf.

Meanwhile, a woman from Amsterdam stepped into the picture. Her name is Monique, and she is planning to go to the orphanage as a CTT volunteer this summer. She read about Moses on my blog and emailed me immediately. Turns out she has a friend who runs a hearing aid shop. His name is Gerben, and he wants to donate a set of hearing aids to Moses. Seems that when a customer dies, the hearing aids he/she wore make their way back to the shop. He just happened to have such a pair that would be perfect for Moses.

After a bunch of emails between Gerben, Monique, Melissa and me, it is now official:

Moses will get the chance to hear. The Oticon hearing aids are now on their way from Amsterdam to Uganda.

Remember the story about the starfish on the beach? The one about a man walking along the beach and noticing 
a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean?

Approaching the boy, he asked, "What are you doing?" The boy replied, "Throwing starfish back into the ocean. 
The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die." “Son,” the man said. "Don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? 
You can’t possibly make a difference!" After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish 
and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said, ”
I made a difference for that one.”

Yes we did.