Thursday, March 4, 2010
Please Note
The work continues
The middle of the week the team was split up between the Forest Home Clinic and Parish Hall, a community center in the middle of Punta Gorda. The need for dental care is so great in this region that spreading out between center city and a surrounding suburb was the most effective way to treat children from the entire district. At Parish Hall a large multipurpose community banquet hall was transformed into a dental clinic treating patients with extraction, restorative and hygienic needs. With a large school surrounding the hall there were literally hundreds of students being treated throughout the day. From little faces poking through the shuttered windows to screams, some of laughter and some of tears, coming from all corners of the massive room, the undertaking at Parish Hall was definitely an exciting time.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Forest Home Clinic
Our second day on site was spent at Forest Home medical and dental clinic. Only a few minutes outside of the heart of Punta Gorda, the clinic was extremely well equipped. We had 6 dentist chairs, running water, fans, ample lighting and an eager team ready to treat children from the adjoining school and surrounding area. Unfortunately the crowds did not come in full force. We treated a steady stream of patients throughout the morning but on a whole the team was frustrated they could not provide dental care to a greater volume of children.
We did however meet Max. A special needs patient who brought with him an undeniable spirit that touched every team member he met. Waiting before the clinic opened was Max's family. They were one of the first to be treated but before Max was able to enter the patient chair he had to greet everyone he saw with a smile and a hug. He helped screen incoming patients, laughing and giggling with excitement throughout his visit. Luckily, Chrystalla Orthodoxou DDS, who specializes in patients with special needs, was able to offer Max premium care that he never could have received in his home village. To say that his family was thankful is a definite understatement.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
We have arrived!
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.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
DEPARTURE DELAYED
Packing Party
Packing, packing and more packing. With the amount of medical work that we will be conducting in Belize it is no wonder the amount of supplies that needed to be packed before our trip. Thank you to Greg - for hosting and leading, Lisa & Chris for managing the collection/tracking of the supplies, and to Barbara, Mary and Dane for packing packing packing.
Barbara Berger - hygienist
Dr. Chris Wyckoff
Dr. Greg Keiser
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Belize - Punta Gorda, Spring 2010
In less than a week Healing the Children Northeast will be sending a team to Punta Gorda, Belize to provide the children of the surrounding area with dental care.
Gregory J Keiser is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon who has practiced for over 20 years. He is also the team leader. For the past 15 years he has led cleft lip and palate trips and dental missions throughout South and Central America, Africa and Asia. Greg currently serves on the Board of Directors for Healing the Children Northeast and is the Director of HTCNE’s Medical Advisory Committee.
“These services are desperately needed around the world. It is my goal to establish rotating visits to several counties so as to provide ongoing care and to educate these populations about disease eradication and prevention. My inspiration to continue this journey all began after repairing a cleft lip on a 2 month old. Following which her mother said in a tearful Spanish, ’thank you for giving me a perfect baby back.’”
Rebecca Trimarchi of Carmel NY, will also be assisting with dental work. She has been working with HTCNE since 2007. Hooked on the mission behind HTCNE’s work, Rebecca hopes to join many trips in years to come.
“I think it is great what HTCNE does and stands for. I grew up in a small town and have had many people in my life that have helped to guide me along the way and become the person I am today. With each mission I hope that I can leave a lasting impression on at least one child that will help them in their journey through life.”
Lisa Rangel is a dentist form Morristown, NJ. She has joined Healing the Children in Cambodia in 2006 and Madagascar in 2007. While in dental school she organized free oral cancer screenings at a homeless shelter in West Philadelphia.
“There are too many children who do not have access to basic medical and dental care. As a citizen of this global community, I feel I should help in any way I can.”
Ray Lawrence is a dentist from Rocky Hill CT. He will be providing another ample set of hands to the on site dental work. He previously volunteers with APECA on a trip to Peru.
“I have traveled a fair amount, and I am always moved by the poverty and illness that is out there. I often wonder how we got so lucky to be born in a country with so much.”
Victoria Keiser will be joining her father, Greg Keiser as a member of the team this spring. She is training to become an EMT and will be attending Boston University in the fall.
“I went to Peru with HTC in 8th grade and Guatemala last year and my experiences there have changed my life. I am looking forward to continuing my education and becoming a doctor, and one day I plan to go on these mission trips as a doctor and maybe even lead one!"
Kristin Schrock, a dental hygienist from Northern Indiana is also a returning HTCNE volunteer. Her background in humanitarian mission work includes trips to Guatemala and Uganda.
Dana Buffin is the Executive Director of HTCNE. Along with her husband and 5 kids (3 bipedal and 2 furry canines) she lives and works in New Milford, CT. She is an ambitious humanitarian who explains her life’s work most eloquently in her own words.
“I see myself as a broker of humanitarianism; I know there are kids in need and I know there are folks who have the skills to help them. I like to bring them together. — I think our culture is one of the most generous of all. Nowhere else in the world is the spirit of volunteerism greater than in the United States. When our country gets such a bad rap, I think of the thousands of kids throughout the world whose lives our volunteers have touched. There are kids whose smiles are brighter, jumps are higher and sprints are faster because of our volunteers. I am proud to be a part of something so good.”
Haley Marks will be providing the trip with up to date blogging as well as multimedia accounts of the miraculous work being done on site. She is a recent graduate of the University of Delaware where she wrote a global awareness blog for the student newspaper.
