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CONTACT INFORMATION
T: 905.567.8899
F: 905.567.9097
info@healthoutreach.ca
117 Queen Street South Unit 2,
Mississauga ON L5M 6B5
PROJECT ARCHIVES
Guatemala 2003
Health Outreach’s Dental Team recently returned from a successful charitable dental project in Guatemala in January. Seven team members, bringing together diverse skills, provided dental care to over 300 people over ten days.
Monterrico is a small town of 700 people in the southwest corner of Guatemala. By tradition, the inhabitants sustain themselves by living off the Pacific Ocean, by fishing and shrimp farming. The remoteness of the area gives the illusion of paradise. However, seen closer up, is the poverty of a developing country. A hut with a dirt floor is the main means of shelter against the elements. Fresh food and water is difficult to come by. Malnutrition, intestinal ailments and malaria are commonplace.
Health Outreach members arrived in Monterrico in the morning of January 20th,
2003. To reach the town, the vehicle had to transverse a channel on a small double-car
barge. The weather was very hot since it was the dry season .
The destination was the ‘Puesto de Salud’, a health clinic with three examination rooms, two storage rooms, a “sterilization area” and a lobby with seating for up to 25 persons. A day was taken for organization, inventory control, unpacking supplies and meetings. Supplies were unpacked and set up for oral surgery, restorative, dental hygiene and oral health education. Three operatories were cleaned and organized. A reception area was readied. The portable dental unit was assembled and connected to an outside generator. Team members prepared themselves for the inevitable line-ups of patients. Guatemalan volunteers were briefed on their roles. top
El Dormido is a sleepy village accessible only by a 30-minute boat ride through a narrow river. Twenty-five families live in primitive huts made of palm branches and bamboo sticks. Electricity and fresh water is scarce. Facing the Pacific, the village is being threatened by salt-water erosion. For unknown reasons, ocean currents have changed and the ground beneath certain homes is being washed away.
El Dormido was familiar to Health Outreach from a similar successful project a year ago. Traveling in a wooden boat, volunteers
approached the village from the river. From a distance, they saw a welcoming
party – a group of local boys on the docks waving. The boat, packed
with boxes of supplies, pulled alongside the uneven bamboo dock. Hurriedly,
the children unloaded the boxes one by one. It was a 5-minute walk uphill to
the school. The school is the only cement structure in the village. It was built
by a social worker from Quebec using private funding. As the volunteers approached, they could
pick out the familiar faces of the children, and it didn’t take long for the
smiles as they recognized them from last year.
The need for dental care is truly endless on these projects. Not all can be treated. However, a 15-minute dental procedure can make a significant difference to a person’s quality of life. A simple tooth extraction can mean relief of unrelenting pain. Children were given priority at all times. Because of the unending demand for services, procedures on adults were limited to the treatment of pain and infection and the removal of non-restorable teeth that may lead to emergency situations. Public health education plays a large role on such projects. Educating children on oral hygiene brings new knowledge to entire families who traditionally place dental care last on the list of priorities.
Outreach dentistry is a challenge onto itself. When treating people in remote
areas, one has to first determine the services that will be provided. This could
include public health, surgery, hygiene and fillings. Next, it must be determined
if the equipment and supplies can be feasibly transported to the site. Finally,
the site must be able to support the equipment planned for the project. This
means ensuring power for dental equipment, water for hygiene and sterilization,
and shelter for procedures on patients. top
The clinic in Monterrico satisfied all of the requirements for performing fillings on teeth an extraction. In fact, the team functioned efficiently using three rooms simultaneously. The main hardship was the poor ventilation that made it too hot to work too far into the afternoon.
The school in El Dormido, where a “field clinic” was set up , lacked running water and electricity. As a result, procedures were limited to oral hygiene instruction and extractions.
In anticipation of this, instruments, supplies,
and medication for 35 tooth extractions were packed and transported to the school.
Extractions were performed in the school with children sitting in school chairs.
Despite the rudimentary methods, many children were relieved of dental conditions they were
suffering for many months. Health Outreach had also brought along school supplies
and gently used clothing for distribution to the children of El Dormido.
The most satisfying feeling of the trip was seeing familiar faces again. Unlike past projects, Health Outreach returned to the same communities they helped last year. It was refreshing to see families doing well and children a little older and less shy. Despite what people think, I tell them that our experiences are not at all depressing. Guatemalans certainly live hard lives but there is always an aura of happiness, especially on this trip when the people became friends instead of patients.
I would like to acknowledge the dedication of all the Health Outreach team members.
They have kindly donated their time and talents before, during and even after
this project. To demonstrate such social consciousness at a young age is commendable.
I would also like to thank private donors to Health Outreach since this funding
is what drives our efforts. Last but not least, certain patients of Streetsville
Dental stepped in to donate clothing, school supplies and courier services. Your
support is truly appreciated. top
Dr. Timothy Lee
Founder and President, Health Outreach
Guatemala 2003
Health Outreach’s Dental Team recently returned from a successful charitable dental project in Guatemala in January. Seven team members, bringing together diverse skills, provided dental care to over 300 people over ten days.
Monterrico is a small town of 700 people in the southwest corner of Guatemala. By tradition, the inhabitants sustain themselves by living off the Pacific Ocean, by fishing and shrimp farming. The remoteness of the area gives the illusion of paradise. However, seen closer up, is the poverty of a developing country. A hut with a dirt floor is the main means of shelter against the elements. Fresh food and water is difficult to come by. Malnutrition, intestinal ailments and malaria are commonplace.
Health Outreach members arrived in Monterrico in the morning of January 20th,
2003. To reach the town, the vehicle had to transverse a channel on a small double-car
barge. The weather was very hot since it was the dry season .The destination was the ‘Puesto de Salud’, a health clinic with three examination rooms, two storage rooms, a “sterilization area” and a lobby with seating for up to 25 persons. A day was taken for organization, inventory control, unpacking supplies and meetings. Supplies were unpacked and set up for oral surgery, restorative, dental hygiene and oral health education. Three operatories were cleaned and organized. A reception area was readied. The portable dental unit was assembled and connected to an outside generator. Team members prepared themselves for the inevitable line-ups of patients. Guatemalan volunteers were briefed on their roles. top
El Dormido is a sleepy village accessible only by a 30-minute boat ride through a narrow river. Twenty-five families live in primitive huts made of palm branches and bamboo sticks. Electricity and fresh water is scarce. Facing the Pacific, the village is being threatened by salt-water erosion. For unknown reasons, ocean currents have changed and the ground beneath certain homes is being washed away.
El Dormido was familiar to Health Outreach from a similar successful project a year ago. Traveling in a wooden boat, volunteers
approached the village from the river. From a distance, they saw a welcoming
party – a group of local boys on the docks waving. The boat, packed
with boxes of supplies, pulled alongside the uneven bamboo dock. Hurriedly,
the children unloaded the boxes one by one. It was a 5-minute walk uphill to
the school. The school is the only cement structure in the village. It was built
by a social worker from Quebec using private funding. As the volunteers approached, they could
pick out the familiar faces of the children, and it didn’t take long for the
smiles as they recognized them from last year. The need for dental care is truly endless on these projects. Not all can be treated. However, a 15-minute dental procedure can make a significant difference to a person’s quality of life. A simple tooth extraction can mean relief of unrelenting pain. Children were given priority at all times. Because of the unending demand for services, procedures on adults were limited to the treatment of pain and infection and the removal of non-restorable teeth that may lead to emergency situations. Public health education plays a large role on such projects. Educating children on oral hygiene brings new knowledge to entire families who traditionally place dental care last on the list of priorities.
Outreach dentistry is a challenge onto itself. When treating people in remote
areas, one has to first determine the services that will be provided. This could
include public health, surgery, hygiene and fillings. Next, it must be determined
if the equipment and supplies can be feasibly transported to the site. Finally,
the site must be able to support the equipment planned for the project. This
means ensuring power for dental equipment, water for hygiene and sterilization,
and shelter for procedures on patients. topThe clinic in Monterrico satisfied all of the requirements for performing fillings on teeth an extraction. In fact, the team functioned efficiently using three rooms simultaneously. The main hardship was the poor ventilation that made it too hot to work too far into the afternoon.
The school in El Dormido, where a “field clinic” was set up , lacked running water and electricity. As a result, procedures were limited to oral hygiene instruction and extractions.
In anticipation of this, instruments, supplies,
and medication for 35 tooth extractions were packed and transported to the school.
Extractions were performed in the school with children sitting in school chairs.
Despite the rudimentary methods, many children were relieved of dental conditions they were
suffering for many months. Health Outreach had also brought along school supplies
and gently used clothing for distribution to the children of El Dormido.The most satisfying feeling of the trip was seeing familiar faces again. Unlike past projects, Health Outreach returned to the same communities they helped last year. It was refreshing to see families doing well and children a little older and less shy. Despite what people think, I tell them that our experiences are not at all depressing. Guatemalans certainly live hard lives but there is always an aura of happiness, especially on this trip when the people became friends instead of patients.
I would like to acknowledge the dedication of all the Health Outreach team members.
They have kindly donated their time and talents before, during and even after
this project. To demonstrate such social consciousness at a young age is commendable.
I would also like to thank private donors to Health Outreach since this funding
is what drives our efforts. Last but not least, certain patients of Streetsville
Dental stepped in to donate clothing, school supplies and courier services. Your
support is truly appreciated. topDr. Timothy Lee
Founder and President, Health Outreach