Hinckley Dental Nurse On A Mission To Fund Charity Trip To Africa
A dental nurse from Hinckley is on a fundraising mission to enable her to visit Tanzania as part of a team of volunteers working for the dental charity, Bridge2Aid.
Karen Orton, from Earl Shilton Dental Practice, is hoping to raise £1,800 to pay for flights and accommodation; she has already visited the remote villages of Tanzania with Bridge2Aid and found the experience so rewarding that she quickly decided she wanted to go again.
She was inspired to help the charity after seeing slides captured by her tutor at college; she is now raising funds through various events and challenges, including car boot sales, to raise money for her next trip, which will be her third.
Karen said that she has the full support of her colleagues and patients who have been donating generously and she is really looking forward to her next visit to Tanzania; when out in the villages the volunteers play a very important role in treating local people, as well as training dental workers so that they are able to administer treatment once the teams have left.
People travel for hours to visit the pop-up clinics provided by the volunteers, as access to dental care is very poor, and dental issues are widespread. The teams usually consist of between 6 and 10 dentists, hygienists and dental nurses who work to ease people’s pain and educate them about oral hygiene.
Karen said that the work is tough and hours are long, but each visit has been hugely rewarding and the dentists are always greeted with warmth and patients are always very grateful. Karen leaves for her next Tanzanian mission next month.
Join this Discussion