Tanzania Orphanage visits

It is great to see how the Smiles & Hopes Tanzania programme has grown over the last year.

Three orphanages are now being supported by GCDFund through the provision of oral health education, toothbrushes, toothpaste and fluoride varnish.

What initially started out as a small programme supporting one orphanage in the city of Mwanza, Tanzania, has grown to support two other orphanages in the city reaching a whole different group of young people. Forever Angels orphanage is now joined by the Kuleana Street Children’s Centre and Watoto Wa Africa orphanages.

Prue Preston and another volunteer spent three fast and furious days checking all the children at the orphanages for dental decay, coating their teeth with protective fluoride varnish and educating them on proper brushing techniques. Despite the language barrier children were eager to learn and to practice on the giant teeth and toothbrush model Prue used. The older children were also keen to help the younger ones and often translated the instructions from English to Swahili.

A number of boys at Kuleana need extensive treatment with several root canals and dentures called for. The intense pain from the decay lowers concentration and can lead to them being bullied. This decay is often caused by the diet of fizzy drinks and sweets which are often far cheaper for young children living on the streets. By comparison at Watoto most of the children come from farming communities and aren’t given sweets as treats, so they were encouraged in their good habits. Now armed with new toothbrushes they are eager to keep their teeth sparklingly clean.

Help us help more children by donating today.

We have raised enough money to provide preventive treatment for these 200 children for 2012. With your help we can also provide emergency dental treatment for those who have decay and need extractions or fillings this year as well as providing more children with preventive treatments next year.

If you donate just £11.50 we could provide for one more child for a whole year.

Please support this work. Click here to donate.