Pictures in my gallery reminded me a year ago today I was drenched in sweat in Philippines, hands and back all sore from extracting tooth whole day...yet I hope to relive the moment again.
@autruiglobal mission trip brought me a chance to serve the people in need in Philippines. We went into the slums, crossed river and hiked up hills into poor villages to help fill up and pull out teeth of people who can not afford basic healthcare.
We had translators with us and the whole week we were communicating in hand languages and simple Tagalog we learned from the locals just so we could treat as much people as we can. We often work till late because we want to cover as much people as we can.
A tooth extraction costs them a packet of rice.
It’s either starvation or toothache.
Most of them chose a full belly over dental care.
A kid I treated had so many badly decayed teeth to be pulled out. I remember asking him if he wanted to only take a few out and leave the rest in first, but he told me to take everything out. After explaining to him that it will be very uncomfortable to take so many teeth out at once, my translator told me that he wanted to let me know this is probably his only chance to get his teeth treated.
His only chance.
I looked at the kid. He nodded firmly at me. My heart sunk when his body trembled when I was extracting tooth by tooth, and I will always remember how he thanked me whole-heartedly after each extraction.
Most of the young kids from the slums are forced to work instead of going school. Lack of education due to poverty has led to a lot of crime and premature sexual intercourse.
It’s no surprise to see a pregnant 13-years-old.
A family of 10 could be living in a small room together.
Most of them wanted to escape this life, but not all have the chance to get education.
It still reminds me to be grateful and always be kind to people as you never knew what they have went through. For you who would like to help, visit http://www.dawnforthepoor.org for more info.
Our lives are short, let’s try make a difference. :)
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