By Nancy Clark | Smiles Forever Project Leader
Smiles Forever is answering Refugio Rafael's urgent plea for dental services, and your generous donations can help!
Traditionally, miners and migrant indigenous peoples of Bolivia's highlands, have been either forgotten or overlooked when it comes to receiving dental care. Often uprooted families are lacking shelter, a school, and even food. Sometimes the mother is left alone with her children. A wonderful organization, Refugio Rafael, also vetted by GlobalGiving, is closing the gap for these hill people. They can live in a safe community, grow some of their own food, and the children can attend school.
These social services are returning as the grip the Covid pandemic has had on Bolivia lessens. Smiles Forever is located in Cochabamba, a city in a fertile valley within a couple of hours of Refugio Rafael.
This is a special report from Smiles Forever to you and other supporters on behalf of their Provide Dental Care for 44,000 Bolivian Children! project on GlobalGiving.
The Smiles Forever dental clinic in Cochabamba, Bolivia is answering the plea to bring preventative and urgent dental care to children served by Refugio Rafael. Andean Highlands families, some with only a mother, have come to the shelter located approximately an hour and a half from our clinic. Currently, our two GlobalGiving groups are beginning a dental evaluation for elementary and older youth.
Already children are being identified for SDF treatments, which is a way to stop the spread of cavities. Other older children have been found to need specialist dental care for root canals or crowns.
This is an ideal new partnership because of the proximity, and it is really wonderful that both Smiles Forever and Refugio Rafael have strong leadership and stable finances to give this promise of longterm success.
Thank you for helping. Your gifts inspire us to expand dental care, in areas totally lacking in this critical aspect of overall health treatments.
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