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Lindsay Bondurant, MS, CCC-A, and her husband
Peter Fauver spent their honeymoon doing
humanitarian work in South Africa.
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South Africa isn't a particularly popular honeymoon destination, but for Lindsay Bondurant, it was ideal.
Bondurant, MS, CCC-A, is a certified audiologist currently working towards her PhD at the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas. Some time ago, Bondurant met Jackie Clark, PhD, CCC-A, F-AAA, while volunteering for the Special Olympics Healthy Hearing Program in Texas.
In what had to be one of the more unique requests she'd ever made, Bondurant asked Dr. Clark if she and her new husband, Peter Fauver--who is working on his PhD in neuroscience--could join Clark on her annual trip to South Africa for their honeymoon.
"I've been interested in humanitarian audiology for many years," explains Bondurant, "and my husband and I decided that instead of a traditional honeymoon we would rather combine our love for adventure and volunteering and spend our time in South Africa doing humanitarian work."
Dr. Clark was all too happy to take the couple along. While in South Africa, Bondurant was teamed with audiologists from the University of the Witswatersrand in Johannesburg. The mornings were spent performing screenings for local schoolchildren--Bondurant screened more than 400 kids in just three mornings for cerumen impaction, otitis media and hearing loss.
Afternoons took her and the rest of the team out into the community to perform similar tasks. Despite the obvious discrepancies between audiology in the United States and South Africa, Bondurant reported she was quite impressed with what the South African team was able to accomplish.
"It was amazing to have a chance to see a true community-based audiology clinic," she recalls. "We were in an extremely rural setting, but that gave us an opportunity to get to know the local teachers and translators as well."
The experience also included a workshop for hearing health practitioners on cerumen removal, as well as on-site work at a hearing clinic sponsored by Oticon South Africa as part of the Xanthia project, with which Dr. Clark is affiliated.
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During her trip to Mozambique, Bondurant
screened more than 400 kids in just three
mornings. |
As expected with working in such a rural location, the group ran into some issues with lack of running water and electricity at times. Ultimately, however, this turned out to be an unexpected learning experience. "It really taught us the meaning of flexibility," Bondurant says. "With a little advanced planning and some on-the-spot troubleshooting, there's a lot you can accomplish."
Bondurant recently accepted a position at Illinois State University, where she will be an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. The journey to South Africa provided her with an unforgettable experience, as well as the inspiration to educate and persuade others to join in volunteer work worldwide.
"I learned a lot about the organizational aspects of trips like these--working with the governments, the universities and other professionals in foreign countries," she says. "I plan to utilize all that knowledge in my new position."
Bondurant admits that when she starts at Illinois State, she'll probably look to stay a bit more local with her initial efforts. But she is quick to add that the South African experience has shown her that anything is possible--with the right people and the right intentions.
"I'll definitely be continuing this kind of work," she confirms, "and I can only hope to have the same impact on my students that Dr. Clark has had on me and the other students here at UT-Dallas."
Rob Senior is managing editor at ADVANCE and can be reached at RSenior@advanceweb.com.
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