«What I carry with me is the emotion, joy, gratitude, and excitement felt by all the people I was able to help with a hearing aid during this mission.»
Yolanda Sánchez
GAES Vallecas – Cape Verde with Fundación Clarós
A few years ago, the idea of going on a solidarity trip started to grow in me. I looked for information, visited some NGOs, but I couldn’t quite find my place—I wasn’t sure what I could do or contribute.
By chance, I changed careers, trained as a hearing aid specialist, and GAES gave me the opportunity to work with them. Soon after, I learned about Fundación GAES Solidaria. I loved the project and signed up right away.
In April, I finally traveled to Cape Verde with GAES Solidaria and Fundación Clarós. It was a whirlwind of emotions—when they told me, I couldn’t believe it. As the trip got closer, nerves kicked in.
Once I started preparing the materials and received the plane ticket in my inbox, I got a rush of excitement and became emotional. More nerves followed, and I bombarded Nacho (my colleague who had already gone) with a thousand questions. He kindly answered them all, with a mix of joy and nostalgia as he recalled his own experience. But nothing compares to living it yourself. No matter how much he described it, until I arrived at the hospital in Praia and saw the number of people waiting for us on a Saturday—hoping that the foundation’s team could improve their lives with surgery, a hearing aid, a solution—I didn’t truly believe it was happening.
We barely had time to greet Yanette, the local audiologist, before we got to work. The next few days were filled with patient evaluations, ear exams, audiometries—so we could "select" who most needed one of the 20 hearing aids I had brought this time.
I thought this part would be tougher. But that was completely overshadowed by the joy of Kelly, a 9-year-old who had tears of emotion when she was able to answer all the questions we asked—even when we spoke behind her. Or Margarida Inés (with a queen’s name, as I told her), age 76, who had arrived quiet and withdrawn, and returned home to the island of Maio happy and smiling, after giving heartfelt hugs to the entire foundation team.
They are just two examples of the emotion, joy, gratitude, and excitement felt by all the people I was able to help during this mission. That’s what I hold on to—and with that uplifting feeling, I encourage everyone who has the opportunity to take it and live it.
Thank you, thank you, and more thanks to GAES, GAES Solidaria, and everyone who made it possible for me to live this experience.