How much would you give? – Part One
- theearthyouthproject
- May 29, 2020
- 7 min read
Meet Su Min, a final-year dental student who shares her volunteering experience in Peru during the summer of 2019, where she helped provide dental treatment and promote health awareness to the local communities, while opening her eyes to important issues such as poverty, hunger and access to health services and quality education. In this first part, Su Min's story focuses on Sustainable Development Goals 1 (No Poverty) and Goal 2 (Zero Hunger).
My name is Su Min and I am from Malaysia. As a dental student at Dundee Dental School, I was required to carry out a 5 week-long elective at the end of my 4th year. This means doing dentistry - be it hands-on or simply shadowing someone - in any type of dental setting during summer break. Some of my friends chose to observe intricate surgeries in hospitals, some decided to see veterinary dentists at work, some stayed at school for extra clinical sessions. Like some colleagues who went on humanitarian dental missions, I opted to volunteer in Peru.
Left: a sneaky shot taken by my colleague, Jill, when I was checking teeth. Middle: that’s me! Right: That’s me, again, with some very kind children I met in a primary school in Cusco — they offered me not only their smiles but also fruits they bought using their own pocket money.
Why Peru?
I never imagined myself treating teeth in Peru let alone setting foot on South America which was half a globe away. Among my circle of friends and family back home, this continent of the world was barely mentioned and never their choice of destination for vacation. So what made me embark on this journey? I was inspired by a lecturer of mine who had been volunteering in Peru for the past 13 years consecutively. For more than a decade, she went on a total of 16 trips and with each trip her passion in helping the underprivileged locals only grew stronger. (Dear S, you are truly one of a kind and I hope you know this already.)
Seeing life from different perspectives Throughout my time in Peru, I had the opportunity to explore 3 different regions namely Cusco (where Machu Picchu is located), Iquitos (near the Amazon River) and its capital Lima. Despite being in the same country, all these locations opened my eyes in various aspects such as the local lifestyle and culture, the geography of the regions and the availability of basic infrastructure. Most importantly it made me reflect on myself, what I had been given and how I could give back.
During the 5 weeks, I was allowed to provide dental treatment as well as to promote health awareness to the local communities. Starting from zero in speaking Spanish was not as challenging as expected thanks to the friendly locals including my Spanish teacher in Cusco, dental patients and all the people I met along the way. They were patient in comprehending my incomplete sentences with broken grammar and even attempted to speak in a way that I could understand easily. Our conversations covered trivial topics for instance preferences on weather and food recommendations. However it was through these little things that I found similarities among us. It was our language barrier and differences in background that connected us in a unique way that I never saw coming.
These people were some of my Spanish gurus — left: a 7-year-old patient (Milton) I met in a healthcare centre; middle: the lady in red, Patricia, was my Spanish teacher; right: a local who sat beside me for lunch at a food market and ended up offering me food — how kind of her! Here, I would like to relate a few experiences that left a mark on me, to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations.
Goal 1: No Poverty
We all know poverty exists in every corner of the world but how many of us who are reading this now have experienced it first hand? I am not talking about not being able to get what you want but instead, not knowing what you need. Day in day out we are fed with statistics of global impoverishment on the news and public figures doing charity for the deprived broadcasted on social media. We are aware that it is happening but how many of us really give empathy by trying to understand it better? Not me, not until a Peruvian asked me how to open a doorknob.
"We all know poverty exists in every corner of the world but how many of us who are reading this now have experienced it first hand? I am not talking about not being able to get what you want but instead, not knowing what you need". – Su Min
It might only be a twist on the knob that allowed the patient to exit the dental surgery but it was a huge turn on my understanding of true poverty. She said ‘gracias’ for my instructions to open the door but it was only moments later that I realised she was the one I had to thank. With just a question, I was taught that true poverty did not only mean having insufficient food or money to stay alive. It also meant being stripped away of the knowledge and opportunities that 90% of the world is comfortably enjoying, with many of them being total oblivious to extreme poverty.
Left: the MV Forth Hope operated by the Vine Trust. Middle: one of the two dental chairs available on board. Right: trays of clean dental instruments placed next to windows facing the river.
This encounter happened for several times while I was working on a medical vessel that travelled along the final tributary of the Amazon River, namely the Marañon River. Every day the boat stopped at a different village, allowing people to come on board to receive free medical and dental treatments. Many of the patients I saw were not aware of having the option of having a tooth filling and therefore assumed that all decayed teeth had to be taken out.
The local communities thrived on farming and fishing. Depending on the political resources and budgetary allocations, all the villages I visited had different levels of basic amenities. Some had a school and a government-run healthcare centre while some completely lacked of electrification and connectivity. A large proportion of the houses were wooden sheds supported with stilts a few feet off the ground and in some villages consider it a rare sight if you see a fully-walled shelter.
Left: the view of a village from the medical vessel. Middle: a house without any walls. Right: a school consisting of a few blue buildings found in a village.
Goal 2: Zero Hunger
What does a banana mean to you? To many it could be a quick bite in the morning before you go to school or an energy booster before working out in the gym. For a fragile 80 year old granny living in a rural town in Cusco, a banana could easily make up a meal. And yet, I was given 3 pieces when I visited her.
4 hours’ drive away from the capital of Cusco, passing through the well-known Sacred Valley, was where you could find Huyro - a town with less than 2,000 residents and known for their tea and coffee plantation. Here I worked with 2 dentists in the community healthcare centre providing treatment such as simple tooth fillings and scaling. On one occasion I was tasked to carry out health-visiting with a local dentist i.e. visiting villagers at home to identify their health needs and subsequently signposting them to appropriate authorities.
Having picked up dental vocabulary in Spanish, I was in charge of advising the residents on how to prevent tropical diseases such as fatal viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes, by getting rid of stagnated water around dwellings. As for dental care, we applied fluoride varnish for children under the age of 12 and advised regular attendance at the dentist. By showing them information leaflets, we also talked about the importance of consuming a variety of food to ensure adequate nutrition and good health.
Left: meet Becky, one of the two dentists working in Huyro. Middle: the entrance of the healthcare centre of Huyro. Right: a photo taken by Becky when I was giving dental advice to a mother and her two sons.
Everything went well for the entire morning until we stopped by this granny’s house. It was mid-day and there she was sitting alone in her dimly lit kitchen, sipping on a bowl of very thin congee. Flies and mosquitoes were seen around her uncovered food placed on the floor and a wood-fired stove was sitting right behind her. The local dentist had a chat with her regarding her general well-being and before I had the chance to provide health advice, the dentist pulled me aside and whispered, ‘please do not mention anything about having a balanced diet.’ I was stunned.
Left: the granny who offered me bananas — bless her! Middle: her grandson who was proud of his latest achievement — winning a gold medal in a sprint at school. Right: Becky at work — filling out paperwork for the villagers to keep their personal details up-to-date on the national healthcare record. Later on from the conversation we found out that she was living there with her 10 year old grandson, with nickel-and-dime provided by her only son working far away from home. With a walking aid, she worked on her small farm in order to obtain food just enough for her and the boy. Unlike us, they were surviving on their limited crops such as plantains and oranges, struggling to stay full. Unlike them, some of us had the choice of fuelling ourselves with nutritious food and yet filled ourselves with junk food, only to desperately seek for medical attention when stricken by preventable illnesses.
Part two of this story will be posted soon so keep an eye out!
Follow @theearthyouthproject for more stories linked to the #SDGs
Comments