School in Zimbabwe needs sponsors
The container has successfully been unloaded in Zimbabwe after much negotiation in this so corrupt regime!! Still the officials are looking after their interests and getting paid which results in such pressure.
The Falcon school is a little too far from the previous location and so many cannot get there. The local area has increased in population and they are desperate to join this new school but due to lack of funds the school cannot afford to employ the professional proper teacher to run the classes for the older children. We need to establish a bursary fund to help to subsidise the salary and allow those who can pay to so do and top this up with the bursary if necessary. more details to follow.
Dental Assessment progress
There has been a positive response to all those letters sent to the medical advisory Board of Smile Train, highlighting the lack of proper dental assessments to patients receiving their cleft palate operations. I got these letters signed by many leading professionals and Royal College presidents here in UK. This resulted in three way direct telephone calls to New York with the vice president of Smile Train who agreed that Smile Train will adopt a 'whole person' approach to their health care and develop along the lines suggested. This could result in the continued dialogue for a partnership between a Royal College here in UK being the accountable body and holding the funds and us providing the health professionals to highlight the dental advice and instruction in many countries world wide. This could become a world wide change in how Smile Train handle such cases and make a great contribution to how oral health for children is handled. The tragedy that over 70% of the children in the world suffer some decay and for example in UK this is the main cause of children receiving a general anaesthetic.. to have bad teeth removed... a national scandal as is a completely preventable complaint.
The new complete dental surgery will arrive in Karachi on 30th April and get to Kasguma Hospital about 4 days later.... to be installed there and provide dental care for the first time... I will go over later in May to check and hopefully to get this surgery operational. I will also try and set up a meeting with the Asian representative of Smile Train to put into place a dental assessment protocol in both Kasguma Hospital and Gurjrat Hospital where a similar dental surgery is installed.
More news soon...
