“On 23 February
2008, together with my two dental nurses, Su and Tracey, I will be
flying (via Dar es Salaam) to Mwanza in northern Tanzania to work in a
remote clinic, treating patients and transferring our professional
expertise to local Rural Clinical Officers.
The trip is
being organised by Bridge2Aid (B2A), a UK-based charity which has been
working in the area for a number of years and which has a declared
vision to:
provide primary
dental care and oral health education to communities in Tanzania;
equip and train indigenous oral health personnel, care for and empower
the poorest in Tanzanian society and provide opportunities for UK
dental professionals and others to use their skills to serve Tanzania.
In every society
there are those who exist at the margins. In Tanzania they are known
as the Maskini - leprosy sufferers, victims of other disfiguring
diseases and the disabled. Ostracised by mainstream society, they live
on the streets, eking out an existence and trying to avoid the
physical consequences of the rejection they attract. B2A provides
basic dental services for the Maskini from a permanent facility – the
Hope Dental Clinic in Mwanza, but also sends out teams of dentists
into the field. Known as Tooth Camps, these clinics provide dental
services for the rural community. We will be based about 2½ hours from
Mwanza and will be operating one of these Tooth Camps. We may also
visit one of the gold mining communities where, otherwise, no dental
care would be provided. (In the UK there is one dentist for every
2,100 people; imagine a country where that ratio is one dentist for
every 300,000 people)!
At my practice
in the village 44% of my patients have an SG3 postcode; some of the
people we treat at the Tooth Camp will have walked for two days to
seek treatment. Earlier this year, Colin and I were fortunate enough
to visit Botswana on a safari to celebrate our 25th wedding
anniversary; in February we will see a radically different side of
Africa. In addition to being in an area of Tanzania where malaria is
rife, there is an extremely high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and the rural
areas are extremely poor.
Su, Tracey and I
were delighted to learn that Trinity has decided to support us, by
paying for vital equipment and supplies which we will take with us. We
are extremely grateful for this generous contribution and look forward
to talking to you all, when we get back, about our experience in
Tanzania.”
To find out more
about Bridge2Aid click
here.
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