Hucknall Dental Therapist Returns Home to Offer Hundreds of Zimbabweans Free Dental Care
A dental therapist from Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, travelled thousands of miles to help people in need in her native country, Zimbabwe. Monica Zendera, who grew up in Zimbabwe and moved to the UK in 2003, spent two weeks helping out at schools, hospitals and orphanages in April.
Monica was part of a team of volunteers who worked tirelessly over the course of a fortnight to provide hundreds of adults and children with free dental care. Queues gathered outside community centres, hospitals and schools each morning and the team tried to treat as many people as possible. For most, this was the first time they had seen a dentist and dental problems were rife.
Speaking of the the visit, Monica said that people living in remote areas of the country struggle to access even the most basic health and dental care because they cannot afford the fees or transport to get to clinics. Unlike the UK, where we can see a dentist urgently if we experience pain, most people put up with toothache and severe dental pain for months, or even years, in Zimbabwe.
During their visit, Monica and the team toured schools, orphanages and clinics and everywhere they went, they were inundated with requests for treatment. People were incredibly grateful for the care they received, but the team was tackling the tip of the iceberg.
The visit was part of a project run by international dental charity Dentaid. All the volunteers raised their own funds to pay for flights and they also took supplies out with them. Monica raised £2,100 for the trip.
Dentaid organises projects all over the world and targets some of the world’s poorest people. It relies on volunteers from the UK and other countries to commit to raising money to pay for visits and dedicate their time and skills to the cause.
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