• If you want to become a volunteer, e-mail us for more info at volunteer@healthoutreach.ca
• To familiarize yourself with our project please visit our Guatemala project overview page.
• Membership participant application form ( PDF: 18k )
CONTACT INFORMATION
T: 905.567.8899
F: 905.567.9097
info@healthoutreach.ca
117 Queen Street South Unit 2,
Mississauga ON L5M 6B5
VOLUNTEERING
LOCAL VOLUNTEERS
A Personal Story from the Field: "Volunteering In Guatemala - A Closer Look"
As the plane touched down in Guatemala City my stomach began to churn with excitement and anticipation. We would be driving 4 hours from Guatemala City to the remote town of Monterrico on the West Coast where we would be setting up our makeshift dental clinic for 5 days. Supplies and donations in hand we eagerly met "Real" our ride and fellow Canadian (and now a resident of Guatemala) and started our journey. This is my first memory of our volunteer dental trip to Guatemala and was one of many to come.
In January-February 2002, four of us including two dental and two medical professionals with the Help of Kindness in Action journeyed to Monterrico, Guatemala to deliver free emergency dental care to the underprivileged communities in the area. As volunteers we raised donations from our dental suppliers, family, and friends to help cover the cost of our airfare and were solely responsible for the cost of our accommodations and any further expenses. top
In Monterrico we were blessed with the help of our friends in the local community who assisted with translation, sterilization as well as administrative work and even the odd dental assisting duty. We were very fortunate that two of our team members spoke fluent Spanish leaving only two of us (including myself) with no Spanish knowledge at all. When no translation was available, non-verbal communication played a large part in helping us get our points across.
Our "dental offices" were set up in the local medical clinic. The nurse who worked at the local clinic was on holidays so we had both rooms in the clinic to ourselves. Our dental care consisted of preventative, restorative and oral surgery. Lacking full dental equipment we had to make do with what we had-which was limited. The luxuries of having full functioning dental operatories were gone. One room was without suction and had only an examination table to work on. The other room had a temperamental compressor and a dental chair that was stiff to maneuver. But, with some creativity and positive thinking we made it work. We had brought along as many supplies as we could fit in our suitcases and hoped this was enough as well as what supplies had been left over from the last volunteering visit. However, there are always things that you don't anticipate and have to learn from such as on the second day when we ran out of dental bibs and had to make do with paper napkins from the corner store. top
There are few social and medical programs for children. In fact the community had recently just received electricity and prior to that gas generators were used as a source of power. Many of the children and adults we saw had never seen a dentist before except in an emergency situation and the nearest dentist was an hour away by car. Some of the children in rural areas had never even seen a toothbrush before and were shocked that we were handing them out at no charge. Oral hygiene was pretty much non-existent and became a big focus of our visit. Decay was rampant and at times it was guess work to determine which "rotten" tooth needed the most attention especially without any radiographs. But, we made do, along with a good sense of humor and all the oscillating fans we could find as the heat and humidity were at times grueling. The people of Monterrico were very patient and kind, sometimes enduring hours of waiting only to be told at the end of the day that they must return tomorrow. It touched our hearts to see their gratitude and receive their thanks.
Our goal of this trip was to help others by eliminating pain and to do this with kindness and compassion. Not only was the trip to Guatemala successful, it was also incredibly rewarding.
By Monika Brenne — January 2002 top
DENTAL TEAMS
Health Outreach sends dental/medical teams to developing countries. Our current sponsor community is Monterrico located on the west coast of Guatemala. A tour of duty is 10 days to 2 weeks. In addition to lending their skills, health workers lead public health education talks to local community members and health personnel. Some working knowledge of the Spanish language is expected before traveling to the country. Accommodations are usually modest, comfortable and inexpensive.
LOCAL VOLUNTEERS
Health Outreach has volunteer opportunities at home on an ongoing basis. Volunteers help with office work, fund-raising, desktop publishing and research as well as oversee special events. Together our volunteer possess a diversity of skills and contribute tremendously to our cause. top
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
Time:
• Approach people who may have medical/dental equipment to donate
• Check and repair equipment
• Transport supplies and equipment internationally
• Provide storage for donated items
• Participate in programs and events to promote Health Outreach and create public awareness
Seeking material donations:
• Hospitals, Doctor offices
• Medical/Dental suppliers, Pharmaceutical companies
• Corporate Donations
• Private donors
• Financial Gifts
Project Overview | Donation page
LOCAL VOLUNTEERS
A Personal Story from the Field: "Volunteering In Guatemala - A Closer Look"
As the plane touched down in Guatemala City my stomach began to churn with excitement and anticipation. We would be driving 4 hours from Guatemala City to the remote town of Monterrico on the West Coast where we would be setting up our makeshift dental clinic for 5 days. Supplies and donations in hand we eagerly met "Real" our ride and fellow Canadian (and now a resident of Guatemala) and started our journey. This is my first memory of our volunteer dental trip to Guatemala and was one of many to come.
In January-February 2002, four of us including two dental and two medical professionals with the Help of Kindness in Action journeyed to Monterrico, Guatemala to deliver free emergency dental care to the underprivileged communities in the area. As volunteers we raised donations from our dental suppliers, family, and friends to help cover the cost of our airfare and were solely responsible for the cost of our accommodations and any further expenses. top
In Monterrico we were blessed with the help of our friends in the local community who assisted with translation, sterilization as well as administrative work and even the odd dental assisting duty. We were very fortunate that two of our team members spoke fluent Spanish leaving only two of us (including myself) with no Spanish knowledge at all. When no translation was available, non-verbal communication played a large part in helping us get our points across.
Our "dental offices" were set up in the local medical clinic. The nurse who worked at the local clinic was on holidays so we had both rooms in the clinic to ourselves. Our dental care consisted of preventative, restorative and oral surgery. Lacking full dental equipment we had to make do with what we had-which was limited. The luxuries of having full functioning dental operatories were gone. One room was without suction and had only an examination table to work on. The other room had a temperamental compressor and a dental chair that was stiff to maneuver. But, with some creativity and positive thinking we made it work. We had brought along as many supplies as we could fit in our suitcases and hoped this was enough as well as what supplies had been left over from the last volunteering visit. However, there are always things that you don't anticipate and have to learn from such as on the second day when we ran out of dental bibs and had to make do with paper napkins from the corner store. top
There are few social and medical programs for children. In fact the community had recently just received electricity and prior to that gas generators were used as a source of power. Many of the children and adults we saw had never seen a dentist before except in an emergency situation and the nearest dentist was an hour away by car. Some of the children in rural areas had never even seen a toothbrush before and were shocked that we were handing them out at no charge. Oral hygiene was pretty much non-existent and became a big focus of our visit. Decay was rampant and at times it was guess work to determine which "rotten" tooth needed the most attention especially without any radiographs. But, we made do, along with a good sense of humor and all the oscillating fans we could find as the heat and humidity were at times grueling. The people of Monterrico were very patient and kind, sometimes enduring hours of waiting only to be told at the end of the day that they must return tomorrow. It touched our hearts to see their gratitude and receive their thanks.
Our goal of this trip was to help others by eliminating pain and to do this with kindness and compassion. Not only was the trip to Guatemala successful, it was also incredibly rewarding.
By Monika Brenne — January 2002 top
DENTAL TEAMS
Health Outreach sends dental/medical teams to developing countries. Our current sponsor community is Monterrico located on the west coast of Guatemala. A tour of duty is 10 days to 2 weeks. In addition to lending their skills, health workers lead public health education talks to local community members and health personnel. Some working knowledge of the Spanish language is expected before traveling to the country. Accommodations are usually modest, comfortable and inexpensive.
LOCAL VOLUNTEERS
Health Outreach has volunteer opportunities at home on an ongoing basis. Volunteers help with office work, fund-raising, desktop publishing and research as well as oversee special events. Together our volunteer possess a diversity of skills and contribute tremendously to our cause. top
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
Time:
• Approach people who may have medical/dental equipment to donate
• Check and repair equipment
• Transport supplies and equipment internationally
• Provide storage for donated items
• Participate in programs and events to promote Health Outreach and create public awareness
Seeking material donations:
• Hospitals, Doctor offices
• Medical/Dental suppliers, Pharmaceutical companies
• Corporate Donations
• Private donors
• Financial Gifts
Project Overview | Donation page