Madagascar Mercy Ships Moment #6 - Use WHAT on your teeth?!

The previous blog post was all about teaching oral hygiene directly to kids in the schools, but Charlie and I also had the opportunity to have a class with 8 local teachers. The purpose of the lesson was to show the teachers how to train their students in proper care of the teeth and also to answer any questions they may have for themselves. Most of the questions were standard things dental people hear everywhere, including tooth sensitivity, whitening advice, healthy diet, etc. But there was one question I may never forget... Through Charlie my interpreter, this teacher said that her 80 year old mother has all 32 teeth, something virtually unheard of in the Malagasy population. The supposed secret to the older woman's success is a local remedy for toothpaste: Start by grinding charcoal into a powder (which, by itself is a legit substitute for toothpaste in developing countries) and then find a nice dried lump of COW MANURE and grind that into powder as well. Mix the two tasty powders and rub the combination on teeth with a finger...and you will keep your teeth for the rest of your life. So the teacher asked me if this was true. Unfortunately, I have never heard of or tried this particular local remedy myself, and especially not for 80 years, so I couldn't say for sure that it doesn't work... However, my attempt at a diplomatic answer was that using a store bought toothbrush and toothpaste would probably be more effective. Although we may never know... Any volunteers out there willing to test an all natural charcoal/manure blend toothpaste for effectiveness in saving teeth???

Teacher training

 

Charlie's helpful English translation of questions

 

 

 

 

Madagascar Mercy Ships Momement #7 - Teaching School

Apparently my blog has been acting up a little and posting things on it's own when I'm not looking... so if you've received an email with a random post that's either blank or not related to recent events in Madagascar, I'm very sorry! Let's see if this post actually works the way it is supposed to...

Over 2 weeks of working with the dental team has gone by quickly, and I've really enjoyed a variety of things to do so far. Dental assistant is my official title, but because I've had experience with the Mercy Ships dental clinic and I'm also a dental hygienist there are a few extra jobs I've been given to do as well.  I'm able to administer local anesthesia again (give the numbing shots) to patients, which helps the dentists to use their time for treatment. I've also been doing most of the oral hygiene education in the schools since I've arrived, and that's a completely a new experience for me...stretching my comfort zone a little too. In the past 2 weeks I've visited two different ministries in the area with Charlie, an excellent Malagasy interpreter from the dental clinic, and together we've taught 10 different classes of about 50-90 students in each. We get about an hour to review the students' knowledge of the teeth and mouth, then teach proper tooth brushing, healthy diet, and overall oral hygiene. All the students receive a toothbrush, toothpaste, and soap at the end of each lesson, and usually leave with big smiles due to Charlie's tremendous talent for entertainment. The subject matter of tooth care comes easily for me, but the actual teaching can be somewhat difficult because the students don't understand English and I'm working completely through an interpreter. Thankfully, Charlie is an amazing teacher who loves interacting with the kids, so I basically give him the oral hygiene facts and he makes the presentation interesting and on the same level of the students we're teaching. Charlie is also my driver to get us safely to the schools and hopefully back again...so we have had many adventures together, and by now he even knows where to stop for bananas when I'm starving after teaching all morning. So, as we've told all 700+ students, remember to brush your teeth! Brus nify!!!

Typical Mercy Ships transportation in Africa...

 

And a wooden bridge ahead just narrow enough to make me hold my breath haha

The Bethany School with Love and Care Ministry where we did the majority of teaching 

 

Students ready to keep those teeth clean!

 

Adding toothbrushes to hundreds of hygiene kits for the students

 

Intently practicing good brushing

 

Teaching team with happy students and a confused dog :)

 

Unfortunately, no bananas here...

Madagascar Mercy Ships Moment #8 - Getting to the ship

Thank you so much for traveling mercy prayers!!! Everyone should be happy to know that I've safely arrived on the Mercy Ship in Madagascar around the expected time on Friday night the 15th, after traveling several days on uneventful flights and a long bus ride from the capital city of Antananarivo to the port of Toamasina. The bus ride alone is always epic, so I'll post a few pictures from the 8+ hours of slowly winding through the green hills of Madagascar. Even though the scenery along the way can be amazing, it is always a relief to finally see the Africa Mercy at the end of the journey...and that will be home for the next few months.

                                          Epic bus ride highlights:

Zebu working hard...

Multi tasking mother...

Half-way point "rest stop"

And home sweet home :)

Madagascar 2 - I like to move it, move it...

Happy New Year 2016! So I realize my last blog post from the ship abruptly ended in the middle of the Madagascar mini series I was attempting to write...and just in case you were anxiously awaiting the remaining 8 episodes, I have good news for you! Mercy Ships has accepted me to serve on the dental team once again, starting January 15, 2016. The Africa Mercy has returned to Madagascar for a second field service, so I have the privilege of re-visiting that amazing country...and hopefully finishing the blog series this time around. My job on the dental team will be similar to last year as I will be doing both dental assisting and dental hygiene at the dental clinic in Toamasina with the addition of cleaning the teeth of volunteer crew in the tiny clinic on the ship. I'm really looking forward to re-connecting with the Malagasy day crew and friends on the dental team, as well as exploring more of the beautiful country during my stay. Since leaving the ship in April, my friend Karen and I did some traveling in south east Asia, experiencing the countries of Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia before returning to the USA. During the summer I working in Ohio and then moved to the Washington DC area for a 3 month dental hygiene job in Arlington, VA. God provided the temporary work at just the right time to make things possible for me to serve with Mercy Ships again this winter and spring! Also along the way, my friend Karen got MARRIED to an awesome guy from Sweden and is living there now, so I already have another country to visit on my way home from Mercy Ships this time. I'm excited to see what God will do during the Madagascar 2 Mercy Ships field service and would appreciate your prayers as I prepare to leave the US once again, joining the fantastic dental team to show God's love to the Malagasy people by helping to meet their dental needs one patient at a time.

Ready to get back to work with the Mercy Ships dental team :)

Karen's beautiful wedding!

Karen is off on the adventure of married life in Sweden, while I return to Madagascar...

Africa Mercy International Film Festival Movie

It's finally here! The movie you've all been waiting for is uploaded to this blog and can be viewed by anyone with access to youtube. So enjoy An Ordinary Day at the Dental Clinic and join the Mercy Ships dental team for a few minutes from the comfort of wherever you happen to be watching... Click here to watch the movie!

Madagascar Mercy Ships Moment #9 - Just an ordinary day in the dental clinic

So life on a hospital ship in Madagascar is never boring...Living very closely with a community of about 400 volunteers aboard a relatively small ship has its share of challenges, but the benefits far out weigh them all. This weekend was a great example with the much awaited annual Africa Mercy International Film Festival! Any and all crew members can put together a short movie on the subject of their choice and submit the film to be judged by a panel of "experts" on the ship from around the world. The premiere viewing of the films is a well attended formal event for all those living on the ship complete with an after party of hors d'oeuvres and mocktails (aka non-alcoholic drinks). Ok, I'll be the first to admit that we do get a little desperate for entertainment here on the ship, especially with an early 9 pm curfew when everyone must be on the ship even during the weekends. But the film festival is lots of fun and this year my friend Karen and I filmed a production called "Just an Ordinary Day" to give people a glimpse of life on the dental team. So if you're interested, check out a link to the movie hopefully coming soon. Acting is credited to the amazing dental crew, and the technical aspect of putting the film together was outsourced to the USA where my brother Jay stayed up late to get the movie finished before a tight deadline. Enjoy!

In Madagascar with Mercy Ships - warning: shots and lemur photos

So just in case anyone is wondering where I am right now, the answer is Madagascar, an island off the east coast of Africa and famous for LEMURS! I'm actually writing this update as I'm riding in a small boat on a 3 hour river trip returning from a lemur reserve. However, the purpose of my time in Madagascar is not only for the lemurs (as incredibly cute and amazing as they actually are) but to volunteer on the Mercy Ships dental team again for the next 2 months or so. My friend Karen and I arrived Sunday the 15th in the port town of Tamatave, Madagascar where the ship is presently docked and have already put in almost 2 weeks of work at the dental clinic with a team of familiar faces and new friends. I worked as a dental assistant the first week with Toni, a children's dental care provider from Australia, who also worked with me on same team in Congo last year. Toni, our Malagasy translators Arlin and Jacquiot, and I make up the pediatric specialty of the dental clinic. We treat all the kids much to our delight and others relief, with usually only a few screamers a day. Stickers, stuffed animals, and balloons help to make the dental treatment a little more tolerable, although we've found Malagasy teeth to usually be in very bad condition. Most of the kids need multiple extractions and many fillings for baby and permanent teeth. One little toddler even came in pain from all of her upper front teeth being completely rotted into the gums. It's heartbreaking to see so much neglect and decay especially in the mouths of children. But, we're all happy to help save what teeth we can, remove the the teeth that can't be saved, and hopefully teach some good oral hygiene habits at the same time. After running out of pediatric patients for the day, my new job becomes giving local anesthesia to adults or the dreaded "novacaine" shots and extracting a few teeth, after the patient is numb of course. For my second week of work I'm filling in for a dental hygienist who couldn't come at the last minute, so there has been lots of variety in the dental clinic so far. I'm definitely looking forward to what the next few weeks on the ship brings and to seeing some more lemurs this weekend!  

 

    The dental pediatric pro team