Edinburgh Student Dental Nurses Team Up With Charities To Help People In Cambodia
Student dental nurses from Edinburgh College have joined forces with two charities to help people in Cambodia.
A group of students is supporting Dentaid and One to One, both of which provide dental care and education for people living in poor communities in Cambodia. Last week the group communicated with a group of trainee dental assistants using Skype; although it was difficult to understand each other due to a language barrier, both sets of students found the experience valuable.
Gillian Spence, a full-time dental nursing student from Livingston, said that the experience was “really inspiring”; the Cambodian students work with more than 100 children, many of whom are HIV positive, at an orphanage.
Gillian also added that she felt very lucky to have the opportunity to speak to the trainee dental assistants and to see how dentistry is making a difference all over the world.
In Cambodia’s capital city, Phnom Penh, the average person survives on 80 pence per day and the services provided by Dentaid are vital. As well as helping orphans, the charity also provides basic dental care for homeless people, prisoners and hundreds of vulnerable adults and children living in rural communities.
Edinburgh College already supports charity projects, including One to One; the college started fundraising for the charity after Anne Lyon, a lecturer, found out about the organisation and wanted to do something to help. The Skype exchange has inspired many of the students to get involved in charity work overseas and the groups are hoping to communicate further in the future.
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