Jordan – October 2018

A description of the first day from one of the volunteers of the Jordan dental aid mission from 2018:

 

The first day began with Aref collecting Manel and I from the hotel lobby at 9.30am. He explained we would visit various refugee camps for the day to screen and examine the children, all depending on accessibility as it had rained heavily the night before thus poor roads leading up to the camps could potentially have hindered us.

We were both apprehensive, as this was the first time we were to experience anything like the refugee camps.

At each camp, we were met by children running up to the car to greet us. They led to us where we would examine. Forming two straight lines, one by one we examined them, mainly looking for cavities, signs of infection and all the while asking the all important question of whether or not they had been experiencing pain.

Many children had cavities requiring either restorations or extractions to prevent future pain and infection. Some had arrested caries and others none, which was promising to see.

Each family made us feel very welcome, some serving us tea, laden with sugar reiterating to us that diet advice is an absolute must!

All in all, it was an eye opening day for both of us. We were surprised to see refugees from as far as pakistan, having lived at the camp for decades, considering their life at the camp site better than the life they left behind…