Peterhead dental trio set for African adventure in 2019
A trio of dental professionals is gearing up to visit Africa next year as part of a project run by Dentaid.
Dentist, Dr Hawar Al-Haddad and dental nurses, Sophie Grant and Natalie Williamson, will spend a fortnight in Zambia in June 2019. The group will be part of a team of volunteers providing dental care and essential supplies from a base in Itezhi Tezhi Hospital. The trio will also be stationed in outreach clinics, which will serve rural villages.
To cover the costs of travel and dental supplies, the team is on a mission to raise £6,600, and there are already plans in place to get the community involved and raise as much money as possible over the coming months. Events that are in the pipeline include coffee mornings, quizzes and bingo nights.
Speaking about the upcoming trip, Natalie Williamson said that everyone is looking forward both to the fundraising process and the actual trip. The team is aware of the incredible advances in dentistry patients in the UK enjoy, and they wanted to use their skills and provide access to modern supplies and equipment to benefit those in other countries. In Peterhead, it’s not unusual to see a dentist on a regular basis and to access urgent dental care if needed. In Zambia, the situation is very different, and most of the people the team treats will never have seen a dentist before.
As well as providing dental care, the Dentaid volunteers will also be visiting churches, community centres and schools to talk to people about dental hygiene and hand out toothbrushes and toothpaste.
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