Children's Village Blog
A Dentist Visits RVCV

From the Director, India:

Dear All,

Oh what a week it's been! An American dentist and her assistant were volunteering here for the past 6 days. I confess that my expectations were not that high for the dental clinic, as I couldn't imagine how she would have the tools and equipment necessary to do anything. Boy, oh boy, was I wrong!! She arrived with a portable dental unit, a portable dental chair and all the trimmings. This allowed her to clean and examine everyone's teeth, to put fillings in cavities and even do deep cleaning for some of our staff.

On top of this, she and her assistant were clearly born to work with kids. Each and everyone one of our kids actually came out smiling after their examinations! I was concerned about stories from the kids who were the first patients and how scary it was to visit the dentist, but this was misplaced. (My assumption may have something to do with my own dental experiences as a child!) On day 3 of the clinic when I called Ismail and Swedi, both age 7, to come for their turn, they both came charging across the lawn with huge smiles desperate to be first! Even little James, age 10, who had to have 3 teeth pulled, was so in love with our dentist that he wanted to sit in the infirmary every day and watch her work on the other kids.

The dental assistant spent a good bit of time with each child showing them how to brush and floss properly. Every child received a goodie bag at the end of their visit which included a small egg timer to insure they brush long enough. This is great, except I can't get out of my bathroom in the morning as it takes so long to finish the whole brushing and flossing ritual!! I also get scolded by the kids if I don't brush long enough!

Ismail lost his timer after less than 24 hours. Now in the morning, he is walking around muttering to himself "how can I do this without a timer?" He was thoroughly disgusted with my suggestion that he simply count to 120 in his head. This, he pointed out, "is not the same as a timer!"

Another surprise was the reactions from our staff. None of them had ever had Novocain. In Tanzania you are supposed to just suck it up and endure the pain. After Grace's visit, she timidly told me that maybe something went wrong as she couldn't feel her lips or cheeks. When I explained about the Novocain, she nearly cried with relief! Poor Grace thought the numbness would be permanent!

This week we signed the contract to manage Geytighi Primary School in partnership with the local School Committee. It's finally official!! It has been a long year of meetings and negotiations to get this contract! Now the real challenges begin. We learned there will be a new headmaster, who we haven't met yet. We hear that he is great, but only time will tell. The new school semester starts on Monday, July 9. We have created a class schedule so that classes will actually start on Monday. In the past, classes never began on time because no one had thought to organize class schedules ahead of time. Now we have to get the teachers into the classrooms and the first battle will be over. Next battle – get the teachers to teach!

I had our volunteers checking back packs to be sure every child had all the workbooks, pencils and things they needed for school. Of course, our kids saw this as the perfect opportunity to get all new things. Suddenly all the water bottles, pencils, plates for lunch and spoons disappeared. Ah…….but I am on to them!! A quick check under mattresses and behind cubbies revealed a treasure trove of school supplies. So we are all ready for school on Monday!

Cheers!

      India