I will be in Namwianga, Zambia, for six weeks during my summer vacation this coming May 16 through June 25, 2010. During this time, I will be working with the children at The Haven, an orphanage for infants to 2-year-olds, conducting language enrichment activities. I will also be looking to identify any areas of speech-language deficit by providing hearing, speech, and language screenings for school-age children in area schools. Additionally, I will help with the feeding of newborns infected with AIDS, which causes difficulty in swallowing. There is a significant need in Zambia in the area of communication sciences disorders, and there are too many marginalized Zambian citizens who are not being served in speech- language pathology.

Project HIZ-Path (Harding in Zambia- Speech Pathology) is a non-profit organization founded by students concerned about services delivered to children and adults with communication disorders both locally and globally. The purpose of HIZ-Path is, first and foremost, to provide speech-language therapy services to people in need, and secondly to provide graduate students like myself the opportunity to experience the rewards of humanitarian efforts firsthand. The message that Project HIZ-Path wants to proclaim is one that is filled with love and service through honest and sincere passion for humanity.