Allan and Ruth Davidson with four-year-old Arya, who is able to hear now thanks to the cochlear implant.By Melissa Donchi
WHEN Yarra Glen resident Ruth Davidson discovered four-year-old Arya desperately needed a cochlear implant to hear, she immediately paid for the operation.
What was unusual was that Ms Davidson took out a bank loan to fund the operation despite Arya being unknown to her and living in Nepal.
But Ms Davidson, who travels to Nepal once a year to do voluntary work at a women’s shelter, felt that waiting was not an option.
“I just wanted to help this little girl achieve her right to be able to hear her parents’ voices,” she said.
“We could have asked around and tried to raise funds but it was just easier to get the operation over and done with and think about the money later,” she said.
Arya recently had her hearing device switched on and her parents are now in the process of teaching her all the basic sounds and words she would have learnt as an infant.
“Everyone is really happy,” Ms Davidson said. “It’s a very exciting time for them.”
Ms Davidson first went to Nepal on a trek with her husband Allan in 1999.
It was only when they got back to Australia that she learnt about a volunteer program in Nepal.
“We came across a stall at a country market that was raising money for a women’s shelter in Nepal,” Ms Davidson said. “I asked if they took volunteers and it turned out they did.”
This is how she met Arya and her mother and became involved in The Women’s Foundation of Nepal, a non-government funded organisation which depends on financial support from donations and sponsorship to help the underprivileged women and children of Kathmandu and outer lying areas of Nepal.
Ms Davidson now spends three months in Nepal each year with her husband joining her for three weeks.
Mr Davidson, who is currently the president of the Healesville Rotary Club, comes along to oversee projects sponsored by the Rotary.
Healesville Rotary is sponsoring a couple of children as well as a computer program.
“We went over together last year to set up a computer program so the kids can e-mail students at Badger Creek Primary School,” Ms Davidson said.
She described her first volunteer trip to Nepal as intimidating but said it became much easier later.
“At first I didn’t know anybody and had no idea where to go, whereas now I meet my friends at the airport and can speak little bit of their language.”
The Davidsons are hosting a luncheon at their home on 21 March to raise funds for the women’s shelter.
“We did the same thing last year and managed to get around 80 people,” she said.
Sponsored by the Healesville Rotary Club, this year’s special guests will include Renu Sharma and Kamala Upreti from The Women’s Foundation of Nepal. All are welcome and any donations are gratefully received. Contact Ruth Davidson on 9730 1608 to RSVP by 14 March.
