Day 1 - October 6, 2011
Day 1 of the clinic was an interesting day. It first began with a leisurely trip on the highway to the local social service office where we meet with the director who helped us organize everything. He arranged for a police escort to take us to the school so nobody would get lost. During the short 20 minute drive through Rosarito our caravan of 14 cars soon became 6 as one of our drivers decided that he needed gas. As he pulled into the gas station, the 8 cars behind him followed and the caravan was split.
Fortunately, being 1 of the 6 cars that found our way through the hills of Rosarito brought us to our next challenge, how to set up the clinic. In the United States, it is nice because we have wonderful people that help organize and plan our AYUDA clinics to make sure there is enough room and also being held there every year, we as students also know a little what to expect. This school was much different from the schools in the US. The school was maybe 100 yards square with a quad in the middle which was open for kids to play in and such. The biggest room for us to set up in was about 15 ft by 15 ft. So, being the guy in charge I quickly instructed the students who made it to empty one classroom and set up our operative chairs.
While we began to set up the clinic, Sean Gardner jumped into the back of the police truck and went out searching for the remaining cars in the caravan. While Sean was gone, we set up our little room with only 7 operative chairs. The remaining 6 we decided would be best to set up outside. We were provided with 6 large shade tents as well to help with the Sun, and rain. We also set up the rest of the clinic stations around the quad area as well, which worked out nice because the kids and parents could see what was going on and helped them get more comfortable.
Soon after the clinic was set up the remaining cars found there way to the school and we began treating patients. Now the real fun began. One of the great things about being the director was watching all of these wonderful kids interact with the students. They truly loved us. Also watching how everybody worked together to help these kids out was really fun to watch.
As the day went on more and more of the community came by to see what was going on and they all wanted to be seen. The sad thing being we did not have enough time and resources to help the amount of people that needed it. These families around the school lived in very poor conditions and were so appreciative of our work. Many of the kids, and even some parents had never been to the dentist. It was sad to see so many of these kids with so much bacteria in their mouth and nothing we could do expect pull teeth. Many of these kids had never had a toothbrush, so when they all lined up to get one, they quickly rushed to the sinks to brush there teeth. It was a great thing to see. The downside being the candy shop and ice cream cart at the school was so busy, these kids would soon be sucking on candy. When asked why they were eating candy because we just told them so much is bad, there response was, “we are not biting it, we are only licking it.”
The first day we treated about 70 patients and most of them had multiple teeth worked on as well. The local news stations came and filmed how the clinic was run and they interviewed Sean, who is our international liaison, who helped organize the whole thing. We were on the news that night and were in the newspaper the next morning. The newspaper article already had a location chosen for us to come to next year. The community was so appreciative of us and I really wish we could have stayed longer and helped these kids and there parents more.
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| Brian Miller - Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC Class of 2013 |
Day 2 - October 7, 2011
Building off of the momentum from day one allowed day 2, of our first every student organized international trip, to be a success! After our pre-clinic morning meeting, where new assignments were given, the AYUDA group got to work immediately. The work progressed quickly and smoothly with the aid of the Rosarito City Social Workers. Their role was to make sure we had patients ready to be screened, and their dedication allowed the AYUDA volunteers to do what they do best; give as much quality treatment to as many individuals as possible.
Providing dental treatment in an area such as Rosarito is a valuable experience for the AYUDA volunteers as well as the children who received treatment, many who had never visited a dentist prior. The patients gained vital oral hygiene instruction as well as treatment and the volunteers were able to successfully instill trust in their patients. Our hope is always to provide the necessary treatment, to teach and inform, and also to build a bond with the children to show them that visiting the dentist does not need to be a negative experience.
Naturally, the AYUDA volunteers begin to form quick friendships with the children. At the end of the day the soccer field is full of children playing a friendly soccer game against a handful of AYUDA volunteers, and games of tag can be seen as well.
Many hugs and high-fives were given, friendships were created, and all involved on this trip departed uplifted for having participated: for me that equals success!
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| Chris Olsen - Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC Class of 2013 |
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