Education Bolivia Project #7925

Help Dental Hygiene Students Make Bolivia Smile!

by Smiles Forever

Project Report | Oct 25, 2017
Shirley Sends News from the Chapare

By Nancy Clark | Project Leader

SCC dental hygienists with Oscar & Rooster

Shirley, a senior Smiles Forever student, shares news from the Chapare project & also talks about her research project:

Hello Friends:

My name is Shirley, a student of Smiles Forever, writing to keep you updated about the news that happens here in Cochabamba - Bolivia, our work is arduous day by day, a new group of children of S.O.S. began to receive their dental treatments and that keeps us very busy, but among the great things that happened since my last letter to you are of the project of S.D.F. in the Chapare. That project is going excellent and achieved a reduction in the caries (tooth cavities) index of 20% in just 6 months of applying the S.D.F. (silver diamine fluoride). We worked hand in hand with a 2nd year dental hygienist students from the Shoreline Community College of Washington State in the United States. We worked together for a week and we attended the more than 600 children in the school María of the Rosario in Villa Tunari in the Chapare.

It is so nice to see as the children expect us every six months. The work is sometimes hard, but it is becoming more rewarding because we are seeing results very fast. Our Smiles Forever team also provides education and how to perform home care and continue with the dental brushing program. Every child receives a new toothbrush and the commitment of teachers at school is to brush at least once a day at school.

Now once we get the tabulations of results, I can begin to compare my own project in the school Heroes of the Boquerón that has the same principle, but the habits and facilities are bigger in this school because it is an urban school.

For the moment that is all and soon I will send you monthly updates of our activities. A great deal, love and thanks for their support.

XoXo

Shirley

Further News from our Smiles Forever Founder & Executive Director Sandy Kemper:

Dear Friends and Supporters of Smiles Forever,

               As the Thanksgiving Season approaches, we wish to extend our heartfelt thanks and hope for God’s blessings to all of you and your families that have supported us.

After almost 17 years in service, providing education to struggling young women in Bolivia to become dental hygienists, the Smiles Forever Program was awarded the Certificate of Excellence sponsored by the Sunstar Foundation, the International Federation of Dental Hygienists, and the International Journal of Dental Hygiene. Our students and community service efforts for children in poverty have been recognized by the world. This opens huge doors of opportunity for our students and graduates to be recognized here in Bolivia and South America as true professionals. The Dental Hygiene Society has been asked to join the World Federation of Dental Hygienists and therefore will participate in the next world convention in Korea 3 years from now. I announced at our Latin Night for Smiles special event Oct. 14th that our hope is to send our student Shirley to the conference. There Shirley can present her study and have a chance to win a monetary prize.

         Through your support and grant funding, students and graduates were able to continue the fight against tooth decay for children.
Staff and students are thrilled that our community service clinic is now offering dental care to Association Life (service for blind) and Compassion (impoverished children). Smiles Forever is now approaching providing free dental care to over 35,000 children in 17 years.

Featured in our sharing time at the auction was our 2nd experience returning to a school to continue treatments and gathering statistics which will be helpful to the international community.
In the Chapare jungle 4 hours from Cochabamba, we are applying Sliver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) to decayed teeth. This product actually can stop tooth decay and prevent pain and needless restoration to the baby teeth of children. Dr. Steven Duffin has been added to our team which is creating a world study of SDF to find out how to produce SDF affordably and supply to all impoverished children around the world!! We were so happy that we could introduce him to our crowd of supporters from the Seattle area. Also, able to join us for the night featuring tapas & tango dancers, was our curriculum writer, Sarah Golightly. She is taking our study program to a higher level which ultimately can be taught at a Bolivian university. Smiles Forever is making dynamic strides to make our work self-sustaining.

I have great news for you about our student, Shirley, 20 years old who has reached out to thank you in her own words. Shirley comes from an impoverished family of 5. She has always helped financially support her family by various small jobs. She is intelligent, motivated and mature young lady beyond her years. Shirley’s new job and career in dental hygiene will be a great asset to her family financially and motivation for other young women. You may read more about her and donate directly through

Star Student Shirley's Smiles Forever Work Shines!

Hurry if you wish to read her complete story since this micro-project runs for only a few more days. Be assured that donations to any of our sites will also benefit Shirley. Here she is shown with Winston who attends a special needs urban school where Shirley is helping and gathering data.

My entire family including dad Sam, husband Freddy, adult son Kyle, and adopted Bolivian children Andre 10 and Gisele 8 were at the Smiles Forever gathering to personally welcome and thank you. This beautiful October evening was dedicated to the memory of my mother Eddie, whose spirit of giving and service is living today in our work.

With bountiful gratitude, Sandy Kemper Smiles Forever Founder & Executive Director

Children brush once a day at school

Blind patients receiving treatment

Chapare girl in a tree

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Jul 31, 2017
Smiles Forever Partners with Ninos Valor

By Sandy Kemper | Smiles Forever Founder & Director

Sweet Smiles

Smiles Forever partners with almost 30 Bolivian service organizations. Many of them focus on helping children not only survive, but also find out who they are and how they can accomplish things. These children then go on to ultimately find their place in society and help to make a better Bolivia.

Let me introduce you to one of our favorite partner organizations Ninos con Valor. We bring dental care to these children. In summary, this is what they strive to do: these values can be found on their website:

R espect and Justice– We partner with both governmental and non-governmental organizations to advocate for change, education, and services for those without a voice to plead their cause. We are specifically working to combat the discrimination that is so prevalent against those living with HIV/AIDS.

I ntegration with family and society– We believe that the best place for a child is in a healthy safe family. Whenever possible we work with birth families to restore the family unit, and will work with adoption agencies to find adoptive families when appropriate. There is also much discrimination against children living in orphanages, children’s homes or on the streets, often being treated as if they were at fault and deserved to be in their current situations. This is even more pronounced when these children also live with the stigma surrounding having HIV/AIDS. We are working to change the perceptions people have about people living with HIV/AIDS through education and relationship building, also through job creation programs for HIV-positive single mothers to show they can be contributing members of society.

P rovision of needs– While it is important to ensure that each child’s basic needs are met, we also recognize the importance of meeting their emotional and spiritual needs. These children come to us with histories of abuses of all kinds- physical, emotional, and sexual. While often times their bodies bear the physical scars of these abuses, we see the evidences of their scarred spirits and psyches as well, and want to provide healing for the scars seen and unseen.

P otential– In addition to traditional education, we also feel it important to provide opportunities for these children to explore and grow their gifts and talents. Whether it be music, arts, sports, or something entirely unique, we work with other organizations and institutions to enable these children to reach their full potential.

L ove– The most important thing that the vast majority of our children lack is the knowledge that someone loves them unconditionally. In all that we do, we do as a response to God’s love for us and the desire to demonstrate that love to others, that they too might, not only know, but feel that they are loved for who they are.

E ducation– We ensure that all the children under our care have access to appropriate education and vocational training. We are also planning a daycare and kindergarten for children living with HIV/AIDS, as many times they are refused acceptance to other centers. We also want to provide these children a safe, clean, healthy environment where they will have the best opportunity to learn and grow.

Smiles Forever is proud to help children with HIV/AIDS, and we adhere to special protocol and give the best care. The needs of these children are great. We are grateful for donations, because then we can continue to help our partner organizations. Thank you!

Smiles Forever's August Happening:

Our big news is once again students from the Seattle area Shoreline Community College Dental Hygienist program will embark on an adventure of their young lives--these students will travel with me and their instructor & department director to Bolivia. For two weeks they will experience the culture and utilize their clinical skills as they help at our clinic. Also, they will travel to the tropical area of Chapare and assist in continuing preventative care with more than a hundred children enrolled in a clinical study. It will be an exciting time for all of us at Smiles Forever and for these students who will soon start their dental hygienist careers.

Smiles Forever's October Happening:

Our Fun Bolivian themed night with tapas & tango & unique auction items. "Latin NIght with Smiles" will be held at Seattle's Queen City Yacht Club on Saturday evening October 14th. This is a DO NOT MISS EVENT. I will be there with my whole family & you will have a chance to meet the dynamic members of our new Smiles Forever Board. The students fresh from their Bolivian service experience will be helping. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. Reserve your table for 8 by contacting me.

GlobalGiving Thank You for 50% July Match Day & Thank You Donors who participated.

Smiles Forever values all the GlobalGiving opportuniities to make your gifts go further. We also appreciate the outreach to the larger community of givers and look forward to the season of gift cards.

Ninos con Valor outing above city

Swimming outing

Teenage girls gaining confidence

Ninos con Valor serves children with HIV/AIDS

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May 15, 2017
Innovative Dental Care in the Tropics

By Sandy Kemper | Smiles Forever Executive Director

Shirley wins demonstration prize

A New Day Has Dawned in Dental & You are Part of This Dental Innovation:

Our dental care team has launched a new phase of the special protective coating project to prevent tooth loss in the Bolivian tropical village of Villa Tunari It is now possible to treat older children with a compound which initially discolors a tooth to protect the enamel, but with this new step added the tooth will look white. This means that more teeth will be saved from further decay. Many more families have signed on to participate this year. With the help of your generous donations, we have been able to take a full dental care team, including our star student Shirley. By the way, Shirley won a prize for the best display and presentation of how to avoid sugary foods and save teeth!

Report from the Field: Villa Tunari Year Two as Study Results Start Coming In--50 Percent Cavities Arrested!

Dental Hygiene students, staff, and two hygienists from the United States participated in a community service project that is crucial for students to complete before graduation. We traveled four hours on a treacherous road to Villa Tunari. This small town is considered to be part of the Bolivian jungle biosphere, and it is an area which can be dreadfully hot and humid. It was that way on our prior visit, but this time there was plenty of rain to cool us down.

This is our second visit to apply the new fluoride SDF (Silver Diamine fluoride) that although has been around for years, has recently been accepted by the FDA in the U.S. Smiles Forever is conducting a research project to see how effective the product is for school-age children in rural areas, where there is little access to dental care. The SDF turns the cavity black when it is arrested. This is not a problem in a baby tooth that will fall out. However, if it is a permanent tooth, while it stops the cavity, it can be a little unsightly. Now there is a promising innovation: the latest research is saying we can cover that black area with a white resin material to look pretty. No more anesthetic!

In our second application of SDF we showed 49.8% of the cavities arested. This year tooth fairies from Seattle, Elise Tanner RDH and Georgene McCarty RDH, accompanied us on the trip. These experienced dental hygienists shared their tremendous presentation of how sugar destroys our teeth with large tooth props. Students and staff had a contest creating their own versions of the presentation. Shirley, our Smiles Forever student, walked away with the cash prize!

Seattle Donors Join Smiles Forever for a Latin Night with Smiles Auction event featuring a salsa dancer on the evening of Saturday, October 14th at the Queen City Yacht Club. You and your friends will not wish to miss this gala, back again after a 3-year hiatus. Smiles Forever has so much to celebrate as we are not only at the forefront of innovative studies like with SDF application to those who need it most, but also as we continue to lead the world by example in bringing critical dental care to indigenous people.

Mia is our new Smiles Forever board member

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