Sunday, February 28, 2010

We have arrived!




We have arrived in Belize, safe and sound.Notably with all 22 bags of supplies intact. After our 4 hour flight from Newark to Belize City we boarded two 14 passenger planes and took the rocky flight to Punta Gorda, where our mission was to be based.



Our first full day in the field was spent in San Pedro Columbia, Belize - about a 45 minute drive from our home base of Punta Gorda. We set up in the village's school and got to work treating over 100 children over the course of the day. Mostly of Mayan descent, the children on a whole had wonderfully healthy teeth. This however did not mean that our team did not have a lot of work to accomplish today. Multiple hygiene and restoration stations were working non-stop for over 7 hours. Additionally 5 of our doctors were continuously working on extractions of both baby and adult teeth. While some of the townspeople and children were hesitant at first we treated almost every visitor to the clinic as well as educated the assembled groups on oral hygiene and brushing techniques. We left the village with smiles and waves hoping to have as much success as we had today at every clinic this week.