Charity Continued »
cases for the same reasons discussed earlier. Also, there was no dental lab in Rehanli, the nearest one was in Antakya – 45 miles away. During my stay, I was frus-
trated and saddened that I couldn’t do more and reach as many people as I could, but I had to work within the limitations of the clinic and the resources available. On a daily basis, I would speak with the management staff but, like myself, their hands were tied. They wanted to do more but the challenging environment and the enormity of the task prevented them from taking an already remarkable and successful contribution any further. The potential is there and that brings great hope for the future. One of the biggest daily challenges I faced was the high turnover of instruments. This placed a huge burden on the ageing sterilisation unit, so at times I had to close the clinic to replenish supplies. At the end of the first week, we found ourselves running low on all materials, so I had to scale back and become more insistent that the only patients I could see were acute pain patients. This was a low point of my trip, but I had no other choice. My father worked at the
paediatric drop-in clinic, which was on the same floor. This was convenient as it allowed me to speak to the children and their families about the importance of dental health and distribute some much-needed tooth- brushes and toothpaste to the children in the clinic and waiting room. Apart from my daily dental responsibilities, I had the
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr Ammar Al Hourani BDS MFDS RCSEdin graduated from Glasgow in 2009 and carried out his VT training in the Highlands followed by DFT in Dundee and six months as an SHO in the oral and maxillofacial department. He currently works at Tooth Plus in Stirling and Long and Gilmour in Bo’Ness. Originally from Damascus, Syria, he has lived most of his life in Scotland. His father, Dr Ghassan Al Hourani, is a consultant paediatrician at Forth Valley Royal Hospital.
Scottish Dental magazine 29
joy, alongside my father, in helping to set up a purpose- built paediatric hospital in the camp. This was a project run by a well-respected charity in England called ‘Hand in Hand for Syria’. The hospital had two floors – the ground floor had a drop-in outpatient paediatric clinic in the morn- ings with seven in-patient beds for management of acute and chronic paediatric cases, a small pharmacy, an in-house lab and a small neo-natal unit with four incubators and all the equipment required for the unit. The second floor is still under construction and will serve as an obstetric and gynaecology unit. The most rewarding aspect
of my entire trip was the distribution of much-needed powdered baby milk to the residents of the camp and surrounding villages. It was a good way to see how people were making the most of things under the conditions. The Syrian people are very warm, kind and hospitable and every- where I went I was offered tea and any precious sweet treat. It showed remarkable courage and determination to keep spirits high. The ı0 days I spent in the
camp was a humbling expe- rience – one of the most rewarding in my life. I would like to thank everyone who made my trip a success. I plan to go back again to
the camps later on this year, and, as ever, would appreciate the support of the Scottish dental community for this mission.
® To find out more about Aid4All and how you can get involved, visit
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aid4all@live.co.uk
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