Nepal [ photos ]
In 1987, my friends Woody and Penny Strong had
already been to Nepal several times and were able to help me
make the necessary contacts and arrangements for our clinics.
But I was the only dentist, with a single assistant, and could
only do examinations and extractions. I was disheartened that,
too often, the extractions were of permanent teeth that could
have been filled.
The next year, another dentist joined me and I was able to
borrow a portable dental unit from the Christian Dental Society.
Now we were able to do fillings and save teeth that otherwise
would have become painful or require extraction. But the unit
was in three pieces - the unit, air tank and compressor – and
the arrangement was cumbersome.
Through donations from patients and friends, I was able to
purchase two portable dental units that were self-contained in a
small metal box. Now, two dentists could really produce a
significant amount of dentistry. This worked so well that I
purchased another unit. Then, another dentist and a couple of
lay people (my patients) wanted to go along. So we became eight:
three dentists and five helpers. And, we continued to grow. The
largest group traveling to Nepal totaled 18. |
South Asia
I then started getting requests, through acquaintances, to go
to other places to provide dental care. And so, we expanded and
have gone to Sikkim [ photos ], Darjeeling, India and Bhutan
[ photos ]. As the
political situation changed in Nepal following 9/11, I decided it
made sense to look for other places.
Samoa [ photos ]
By this time, our portable dental units had
taken a beating and required extensive repairs. Again, from
contributions, I purchased three Aseptico portable dental units
and I now have a fourth one. They perform very well under the
conditions which we work Our next trip took us to Independent
Samoa working through their Rotary Club. One of the local Rotary
Clubs has been very supportive of our outreach program and
helped facilitate this.
Buenos Aires, Argentina [ photos ]
By 2005 a total of six
dentists and ten helpers were able to venture into South America
to work in Buenos Aires. This is the first time that our group
of volunteers worked with a religious organization. It has
always been, and will continue to be, a humanitarian group. This
time we worked through the Nazarene Church and the experience
was fantastic. |