06 • Volunteering


Dentist Hari Lal talks about helping deprived children and learning Swahili on an eventful trip to Kenya


MISSION TO MALINDI


I


N a normal day’s dental work it’s fair to say that getting up close to a giraff e and speaking Swahili do not feature prominently. But these are just two of the unique experiences I encountered when I took a month off work to volunteer in Kenya. I have always believed that helping those in need is one of the most important things in life and I was keen to do something that could also make use of my skills as a dentist. It was this thought that prompted me to contact the coordinator of Gracepatt Ecotours Kenya, Patrick Karimi (who runs the company with his wife Grace) to fi nd out more about their dental internship project. And, after hearing about the poor state of dental care in the deprived area of Malindi, I decided I wanted to help. To prepare for my month-long trip into the


unknown, I spent a few weeks gathering up as many dental supplies as I could. I was taken aback by the generosity of companies such as Wright Cottrell, Colgate, Oral B and others who kindly donated items including gloves, masks, visors, fi lling material, disinfectant wipes, toothpaste, toothbrushes and scrubs, as well as toys and stickers for children. With everything I’d need carefully packaged,


it was fi nally time to set off for Kenya. I arrived in Nairobi off an almost nine-hour fl ight to be warmly greeted by Patrick who took me to a transit house for the night where I hoped I’d shake off any jet lag. The following day he took me to the Sheldrick elephant orphanage and a giraff e centre where we had the chance to see


these beautiful animals up close. It certainly made for an unusual and enjoyable introduction to Africa. From there, it was time to go to work and a


rather hot and bumpy seven hour bus ride took me to the town of Malindi on the country’s south-east coast. On the bus I met hospital coordinator George Mumba who took me to meet the family whose home I’d be sharing for the next month. Staying in a traditional African


“ Around half the patients didn’t own a toothbrush, never mind regularly brushing.”


home really added to my experience with my friendly hosts introducing me to traditional African food and culture, as well as teaching me some basic Swahili. Once I’d settled in it was time to go to the hospital dental clinic where my adventure really began.


Deprivation I was given a position within the Malindi District Dental Department leading a small


team consisting of myself, a fourth-year dental student and a dental nurse. As a government- run hospital, the patients who came for treatment were unfortunately worse for wear fi nancially as well as dentally. The majority came from nearby villages and I was surprised at the large number who presented medically with HIV.


The prime treatment we carried out was


extractions – sometimes multiple in the same patient – and there were several patients with facial trauma seen in other departments who presented for dental review. More unusual tasks included providing treatment for prisoners or carrying out age assessments for patients involved in court cases. Unfortunately, facilities in the clinic were


limited. In addition to the dental chair being broken and the drill being inoperable, there was a lack of instruments, gloves and masks. The sweltering heat only added to the challenging environment. Despite the diffi culties, I knew this was the best it was going to get thanks to the fi nancial restrictions placed on the hospital by its limited government funding. Each morning, at least 10 patients would queue outside the clinic waiting to be seen, mostly complaining of toothache that had kept them up all night. Around half the patients didn’t even own a toothbrush, never mind regularly brushing. The dental student, Steve, acted as my interpreter as very few patients spoke English. I had learnt the basics in Swahili and could say things like open wide, extractions,


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