Dear Friend,

Thank you for being part of the KinderSmile Foundation village! We hope that you and your family are in good health. With your continued support, this spring we continued to provide access to oral health care for our State's most vulnerable populations in all three of our Dental Homes and through our continually developing programs. Thank you for making us smile!

We are truly grateful to YOU, our donors, grantors, volunteers, and friends who are all part of the KinderSmile Foundation village. YOU are the first to receive this newsletter, telling the impactful story of KinderSmile Foundation’s 17th Annual Global Outreach Trip to Kenya and Uganda, which took place in the last two weeks. We are so proud of our five pre-dental student volunteers who joined us on this outreach trip, for their big hearts, hard work, and passion for public health dentistry. This trip undoubtedly solidified that this passion will blossom.

Together, we will continue to work to ensure that every family has access to a dentist and preventable dental diseases are eradicated. Your continued support and generosity have been truly appreciated! #ItTakesAVillage

Blessings,

Nicole McGrath-Barnes, DDS, FACD

Founder & CEO

Michal Herman, DDS

COO

The Latest from KinderSmile Foundation

KinderSmile Foundation's 17th Annual Global Outreach Trip to

Kenya and Uganda:

The Legacy of Public Health Dentistry Abroad

We are blessed. On our most challenging days, we will always remember the families we saw in Kenya and Uganda.

KinderSmile Foundation’s 17th Annual Global Outreach Trip this month, took nine members of our team, including dentists, volunteers, and five pre-dental students, to places we had only read about.

“Having never been to Africa, I was mesmerized by the beauty of nature that surrounded me as we drove on the paved streets of Tsavo. Little did I know that just a few feet from those same beautiful cement roads, lies poverty stricken communities.

Children walked barefoot along dirt paths with torn clothing, homes were made of mud and tin, emaciated animals walked freely, I’ve never seen anything like it.

I thought to myself, “wow.” I knew how American news stations portrayed Africa: starving children, wild animals, and much homelessness, but to see it with my own eyes was truly disheartening.

To see black and brown faces that looked like my own, struggling to live made me sick to my stomach. In that moment, I realized how much we as Americans take for granted. A roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, food in our stomachs, money in our bank accounts, not a worry in the world.

It’s sad that it took 26 years and a trip to Africa, to adopt a new appreciation for life, but I am truly blessed that it happened, and know that when I return to the states, my life will be lived completely differently.”

-Nyeilla Veale, pre-dental, interested in public health dentistry.

We started talking about a partnership with Project Sunshine Kenya a year ago, when this trip was only a dream. Project Sunshine celebrated 25 years in May, and was one of our partners on the Global Outreach trip to Israel last year. Our connection continued this month in Mombasa, Kenya, with Project Sunshine’s Dennis Ngui Muyanga, and in partnership with Bomu Hospital. 

The Kenyan community welcomed us with open arms. With them, we provided Oral Health Education to 250 children. We visited the Nuru Orphanage and the Swabur Children’s Home, in areas locals refer to as the “slums” of Mombasa.

Nuru Orphanage was founded by the mother caretaker in 1991, when she took in 5 kids and housed them under a tree. She now cares for nearly 200 children. As we pulled in, we were greeted by about 100 waving children, thirsty for visitors’ attention. They were cared for and uniformed. A closer look revealed bare feet, torn shirts, and sad eyes. But their happiness and joy were unmatched. They loved, hugged, participated, and learned. 

This was our first day, and the impact the children left on all of us is still indelible. When we left, there was not a dry eye among our team. They, like all of us, will remember this day forever. They made us realize the real meaning of Hakuna Matata, the commonly used Swahili phrase, “no worries.”

“I had a profound reality check at Nuru Orphanage in Mombasa, Kenya. I witnessed children significantly younger than me drinking dirty sandy water, with ripped clothes, surviving on just one meal a day.

Despite their hardships, they possessed a joy that I lacked. They found happiness in being with their friends and surrounded by their caring teachers. 

Reflecting on my own childhood, I remembered crying over the color of my cup or not having the latest shoes. That day, I realized that there are far worse things in life than those trivial concerns.”

-Jayden Lythcott, pre-dental, interested in public health dentistry.

The trip continued with a visit to Swabur Children's Home and a visit to Bomu Hospital. In Kenya there is no subsidized medical or dental coverage from the government. Oral health is not a priority. Much like KinderSmile Foundation, Bomu Hospital concentrates on providing access to care to underserved communities. Mombasa, the second largest city in Kenya, is home to more than 150,000 people living in extreme poverty in the slums of the city. Proper access to housing, sanitation, water supply and sewage systems is rare. Bomu Hospital offers lower fees, and includes special programs for maternal education and HIV care, striving to raise awareness, bridge the gap, and lower the percentage of people who contract the virus. 

The hospital’s dental clinic is privately owned. Lengthy conversations with the provider, Dr. Pooja, and inviting her to see and learn what we do at KinderSmile Foundation, inspired her even more to embrace public health dentistry in the community.

The outreach we conducted in the two Kenyan orphanages and to the school children mobilized to Bomu Hospital was an extension of KinderSmile Oral Health Program on an international level. Our pre dental students educated over 250 children. We all learned from the kids just as much as they learned from us. The oral health education we provided was culturally sensitive, and had to be adjusted to the resources available in the local community. We learned from the kids that it is common to use a stick as a toothbrush, and salt as toothpaste. They clip a part of a branch of the Neem tree and chew on its end to create bristles. This DIY brush is used with salt to care for their oral hygiene. The oral health kits we distributed lit up their eyes. It’s the little things.

“Driving from Mombasa to Nairobi, city to city, I got a new look of Kenya through the car window. We passed by mud huts and houses held together by patchworks of blankets and loose linens. Some were closed off, while some I could see inside of. I saw parents taking care of their children, who would watch and often wave at us as we drove by. I saw 4-year-olds herding cattle. At that age, I only knew of cows and goats through picture books and maybe some spelling exercises. I saw adults in the middle of the street, selling fruits, and kids at the gas station, asking if we had anything we could give them. 

For so many in Kenya, hardship and tenacity are their way of life, their day to day — this is real life. During this drive, I saw firsthand how people can embrace even the most difficult, dangerous situations with kindness and hope. Children too young to experience suffering still had the heart to smile brightly and wave at me. I will never forget how their joyful smiles and waves made me feel. I admire and continuously learn from their courage and positivity, even more so after this leg of the trip. As I wave back, I want each kid to know that they are seen and loved deeply. I want to give each and every one of them a big hug.”

-Allison Lee, pre-dental, interested in public health dentistry.

A year and a half ago, in the midst of filming our documentary Toothache: The Painful Truth About Oral Health Care Inequity, Jim Parker from Riverview Studios introduced us to the story of Dr. Jane Mandera.

Dr. Jane is a public health dentist in Uganda, so passionate about serving her community that she spends seven days a week working. Four days a week she works in a government clinic where she is the sole dentist in the district, and three days a week she works in a practice she had opened 2.5 hours away, in the underserved community of Bweyale, Uganda. Bweyale is home to 32,000 underserved residents, including Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement which houses refugees from Burundi, DR Congo, Rwanda, Kenya and South Sudan.

Dr. Jane chose this community because of the dire need. She has two other dental providers who work with her on the days that she is up north in the government clinic. The three of them are the only dentists in the district. Dr. Jane has a good heart and truly wants to serve the community she longs to live in with her family. Like us here at KinderSmile Foundation, she seeks to expand access to oral health care by raising awareness of the connection between oral health and total health and wellbeing. But resources are very sparse, bandwidth is limited, and government aid does not exist. In her practice, she and her two associates, Dr. Innocent and Dr. Gerad, have been able to provide care to 9-10 patients per week.

Dr. Jane provides oral health education at local schools, to raise awareness of the importance of regular oral hygiene and nutritional routines. She dreams of the day that she could create a program similar to KinderSmile Oral Health Program, adding diagnostic and preventive services offsite at schools in order to improve the oral health outcomes of the younger generation, and incorporating a crucial link to a permanent Dental Home for follow up care.

After months of meticulous planning and generous donations, we were able to collect over $20,000 of clinical supplies and dental materials! Thank you to Dr. Ayanna Bradshaw, Priya Vaid, and Katie O’Leary for their contributions to the planning committee! We are grateful to America’s ToothFairy, Eli Stuart from DC Dental, Benco Dental, Liberty Dental Plan of New Jersey, Drs. Michael and Brooke Skolnick from Abra Dental, and Henry Schein for making this possible!

We packed and organized everything to the last detail, including preventive and comprehensive dental materials, instruments, infection control supplies, specifically tailored registration forms, consent forms, door signs, oral health posters, stencils, pens, and so much more.

We had seen photos of the dilapidated clinic, but words cannot express the extent of what we saw when we arrived. Medical Chambers is located on a small unnamed street in Bweyale, Uganda. The entry hall, located on the street level, is full of the red dust commonly seen on the town’s unpaved streets. An egg seller is on one side of the building, sitting outside of the open kiosk with her ill baby who does not have access to medical care. 

Small kiosks of used clothing, chickens, plastic shoes, brooms, and others, line the streets. Women in beautiful fabrics and perfect posture are carrying baskets of mangoes or large grass bundles proudly on their heads. Music is blasting in the poverty lined streets. Motorbikes holding four or five people, including infants, leave a cloud of red dust behind. Children are playing and seven year olds are carrying their baby siblings on their backs.

Inside the facility, behind the small emergency triage room and doctor’s room, a back pavilion. Standing water surrounds the space and pools in spots in its center. The smell of mildew in the heat and humidity is strong. Three pavilion rooms have been rented to residents, their laundry is hanging between the poles, and areas have been created with wood shelves and pots as makeshift kitchenettes. A malaria patient in one of the two beds in the children’s medical room. Mosquitoes are buzzing. Lighting is very dim in the entire facility. Electricity is lost multiple times a day, and a generator is too costly.

The “theater” or operating room is a small 9x9 room with no light or plumbing, and no seal for infection control or to prevent cross contamination. We used the floor of this room to store our clinical supplies while working to update the dental clinic. 

The dental room is adjacent, housing a manual dental chair with no water, no suction, and no slow speed. The compressor, placed on the floor of the room, vibrates loudly, and will need replacement shortly. Instruments are scrubbed with soap and water and sodium hypochlorite between patients, as the only affordable infection control solution.

But with all of that, there was so much joy! Children were laughing, playing, happy, and grateful! The Medical Chambers team and dental personnel were loving, helpful, and extremely welcoming! They were proud to have us join their team for the few days that we were there. The backdrop and environment did not allow us for one second to lose sight of our goal. We had a limited amount of time, but we were determined to complete our mission.

"Of the many places that we visited, the government school in Uganda was the most striking to me. Out of almost 600 students, I could count the number of children wearing shoes on one hand. Many had dirt caked on their clothes and face and had cuts on their feet. Despite this, the children were so absorbed in the dental hygiene lessons we presented and excited to learn and try for themselves.

After leaving the government school and driving out of the community, we saw many children that were clearly of school age working in corn fields, carrying materials, and contributing to their household while their peers were learning in school. We learned that families simply could not afford to send their children to school and were forced to choose between food and education.

I was struck by the complete lack of what we would consider basic necessities: lack of dental care, lack of medical care, lack of food and water, lack of basic education, and how unfair it all seems.

I know with certainty that the opportunity to participate in our Mission trip had such a huge impact on me and will continue to impact me as I move forward."

-Katie O’Leary, pre-dental, interested in public health dentistry.

In the bright Ugandan mornings, our five pre-dental student volunteers joined Dr. Jane at school sites, to deliver oral health education to nearly 1500 children! They returned recharged and emotional. They understood more than ever the power of outreach and raising awareness. They appreciated more than ever all that they have.

They mentored two young boys, Simon, age 14, and Peter, age 17, who returned every morning and quickly became a part of the team as our newly installed international Community Service Learning Program volunteers. The boys learned how to provide oral health education, and took over the lessons. They thrived at the opportunity to participate. They were inspired, but more importantly, they inspired all of us! They look forward to becoming young dentists and continuing the legacy we created! Mentorship is ingrained in the fabric of KinderSmile Foundation. Investing in our volunteers, current and budding, as much as we invest in communities we serve, is impactful. 

Every day we delivered oral health education, completed dental screenings, provided dental care including multiple extractions in pitch dark rooms. We conducted Continuing Education courses to medical and dental personnel related to Maternal Oral Health and Silver Diamine Fluoride. We interviewed Dr. Jane, and helped her create a plan of incorporating programs similar to KinderSmile Oral Health Program and our Perinatal Health and Wellness Program. We helped her manage the expectations to maintain a sustainable practice. Monthly check ins will ensure that they continue to have what they need to provide continuous care to an increased number of patients. We are excited for this true ongoing partnership.

We all worked very hard on the renovations, painting, scrubbing, cleaning, and preparing. And we certainly all spent time loving the children. We played soccer and limbo. We hugged them, loved them, and laughed with them. We miss them dearly.

After very long work days, emotional tears, and sore muscles, we completed the project, and held a ribbon cutting ceremony for KinderSmile Community Oral Health Center Uganda. In the spirit of KinderSmile Foundation, this trip was different from a typical service trip. We created a legacy. We created a clinic for Dr. Jane and her associates, and for the residents of Bweyale to receive continuity of care and have a link to a permanent brick and mortar Dental Home, furnished with all necessary supplies and equipment to serve this wonderful community!

Once again, there was not a dry eye. And as we spread KindeSmile Foundation magic in the community, and created a legacy for generations to come, it was not lost on us that the magic these communities shared with us was even greater. This was truly a life changing experience that none of us will ever forget. Our hearts are full of gratitude. Asante Sana. Weebale.

"I have seen Africa with more than just my eyes. I do not want to gaze at Africa like a tourist but as a citizen of the world. It is important to absorb the culture of Africa, rather than just interact with it. Everything here is different from my home. I have learned to open my heart and mind to observe aspects about myself and others. This is the world we all live in. No amount of hours in a car or plane can separate us from this reality. The poverty people here face is not in some distant world but here on this one we all share. Traveling across the country and encountering those with tired eyes and worn out bodies serve as a reminder of how different our worlds can be. It is hard to grasp that this is a reality for millions of people. We provide much needed dental care, but we have given so much more. The universal language of love transcends language. We love what we do and we love to give the gift of smiles. We have helped people and I am grateful to serve others. Personally, I have asked myself the question, “How can I change my life to better serve those in need?” I can no longer be oblivious to what I witnessed with my own eyes. I want to help. I must!"

-Logan Jones, pre-dental, interested in public health dentistry.

 Please consider a contribution to

KinderSmile Community Oral Health Center Uganda,

and help us continue to support public health dentistry in Bweyale! 

On behalf of the entire KinderSmile Foundation Village, we express our heartfelt gratitude for your continued support. Your generosity brings hope and smiles to those who need it most.

Your tax-deductible donation has a direct lasting impact on the health and wellbeing of every child and adult served at our Dental Homes and through our programs.

To learn more about donations of stock or planned giving,

please email Nye Veale.

Thank you to our documentary production sponsors. Your partnership and support played a key role in the continued success of this film!

Thank You to Our 2023-2024 Grantors:

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