Bury dental nurse reminisces about ‘incredible experience’ after volunteering in Greece
A dental nurse has been speaking about her ‘incredible experience’ in Greece after joining Dentaid’s project to provide dental treatment to refugees.
Lucy Shimmin, 22, contacted Dentaid to find out more about helping out in the camps, which have been established both on the mainland and some of the islands. Lucy, who is based at DCP Agency, was part of a team that visited the Nea Kavala. The camp is located close to the border with Macedonia and has become home to hundreds of people, most of whom have fled Syria.
Lucy was part of a team of medical professionals, which offered urgent relief and treatment to people living in the camp. In most cases, the dental volunteers dealt with emergency cases, but there were a few instances when general treatments and checks were also provided. Lucy saw one man who had been taking incredibly strong painkillers for a year as a result of dental pain and said that the conditions were very basic. There were flies everywhere, children only had broken toys and dirty clothes, and everyone was desperate to get their hands on whatever was available to them.
Although the trip was hard, Lucy described it as an ‘incredible experience’ and said she would definitely consider similar projects in the future. Going out to places like Nea Kavala and seeing what people have been through and what are they still going through on a daily basis gives you a sense of perspective, and makes you appreciate how lucky you are. Some of the patients cried after receiving treatment out of sheer relief and gratitude and the entire experience was very humbling.
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