REFUGEE ART RAISES AWARENESS, FUNDING
Plans in the works for nonprofit to aid people who can’t afford hearing care
FRANCONIA » A photograph shows audiologist Dr. Patricia Reiff, owner and director of Associates in Hearing, Lansdale, in a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan during one of her humanitarian mission trips.
Also in the photo is a man using sign language to say, “I love you.”
“His entire family was killed in a bombing and during that bombing, he actually lost some of his hearing,” said Sean Reiff, Associates in Hearing business manager and Dr. Reiff’s son.
At the refugee camp, the man was able to get treatment and hearing aids.
“He’s able to hear again,” Sean Reiff said.
The photograph, near the entrance to the Syrian Refugee Art Show May 15 at Indian Valley Country
Club, helped set the scene and led on to original works of art by Syrians in refugee camps, along with reprints and cards of the art work.
The purpose of the show, which will be moved to the Associates in Hearing office for at least the next month and may also be taken to local retirement communities or other organizations or venues, is to raise awareness about the refugees and to raise funds for future trips, the Reiffs said.
The trip to Jordan through Entheos Audiology Cooperative last April included an art therapist, Dr. Reiff said. She said she is planning to go there again in September. Sean Reiff has made a similar trip to Guatemala. Dr. Reiff is also making a trip to the Turks and Caicos islands, Sean Reiff said.
The trips usually last about nine days, including travel time, with four or five full-clinic days, Dr. Reiff said.
“We go over and we bring all of our equipment. We bring our irrigation system to clean out wax. We bring our audiometer to test hearing. We bring the hearing aid devices, the computers to program them,” she said.
In some cases, the settings for the work are pretty rustic, she said, but having the portable equipment helps.
“When we do the work, we do it like we would do it in our own office here,” Dr. Reiff said.
Hearing aids for the trips are received through donations, Sean Reiff said.
“It’s beyond just sending manpower there. We also send technology,” he said. “We send professionals there that can help treat these people that otherwise don’t have any established audiology clinics or any type of hearing healthcare set up within their country.”
One of the goals is that people in the receiving countries will continue the work started by the trips, he said.
“It’s beyond just fitting people with hearing aids. It’s also sustaining a whole medical practice that’s been overlooked for many years,” Sean Reiff said. “Hopefully, some day, they can treat each other versus having to have people come in and do it.”
The art work on display includes the name of the artist, their age, and quotes from the artist.
“There’s a lot of details showing just how important this was to them and why they painted this,” Sean Reiff said.
“Beloved Landscape,” which shows rocky mountains by a stream and evergreen trees, was painted by a 14-year-old Syrian.
“He’s now in a refugee camp located in Jordan, so most of his surroundings are dirt and sand, nothing pretty, but as you can see in the quote, he said, ‘I painted the landscape that I still love most,’” Sean Reiff said.
“It represents something that he misses and something that he yearns for,” he said. “I just thought it was incredibly done for a 14-year-old. It has an incredible impact.”
Along with helping expose people to what is happening in the Syrian civil war, the art exhibit also shows the hope that remains, Dr. Reiff said.
“The kids are still hopeful,” she said. “Just through their art work, you can see that.”
The art work also includes a mosaic and a photo of people in a refugee house who have lost limbs in the conflict and who are being taught to make mosaics.
“Unfortunately, with the bombs, usually its their legs that get blown up,” Dr. Reiff said.
“They’ve lost their limbs,” she said, “but fortunately, they’ve got a purpose to create something.”
Dr. Reiff, who has owned the Lansdale business for more than 30 years, said she’s in the process of setting up a local non-profit to help provide hearing care for persons who otherwise likely wouldn’t be receiving it.
“Unfortunately, there’s a lot of people that need help and can’t afford it,” she said.
The new non-profit could be up and running within six months, she said.
The recipients of the aid will be expected to volunteer at local charitable organizations in return for the help they receive, she said.
“It’s kind of like a circle of giving,” Dr. Reiff said.
People with hearing loss often become isolated from others because of the hearing difficulty, she said. Improved hearing is only part of what the people served by the planned non-profit will receive, she said.
“They pay back by volunteer hours and then that gets them out doing things for others and feeling good about themselves and hearing again,” Dr. Reiff said.