Two weekends ago, Jossein Shahangian made his way to Santa
Barbara to help Dr. James Rolfe and other volunteers build a
portable dental clinic and sort through dentistry supplies.
The second-year dental student was volunteering his time to the
Afghanistan Dental Relief Project, which aims to construct dental
treatment and training facilities in Afghanistan where volunteers
can provide dental care to orphans.
Eventually, the goal is to train older orphans in dentistry, so
that they may treat others in the country.
This organization was founded in 2003 by Rolfe, a dentist in
Santa Barbara.
After listening to a presentation by Rolfe at a San Francisco
dental conference last summer, Shahangian was inspired to get
involved. In fall quarter, he founded a UCLA branch of the relief
project to help Rolfe and other volunteers in their efforts.
“I’ve come to realize that at a UC institution,
there are so many resourceful individuals that are not only aiming
to become dentists … but are really caring and
(humanitarians),” he said.
“(They) could and would enjoy partaking in an organization
like this with such a noble cause.”
The student organization, also called the Afghanistan Dental
Relief Project, will work to create awareness of the dental health
problems in Afghanistan through presentations and epidemiology
research, while also fundraising and collecting donations.
“We want to really make a difference,” Shahangian
said.
In addition, members like Shahangian are helping the parent
organization build a portable dental clinic that will be shipped to
Kabul, Afghanistan, in about two weeks.
The dental clinic is a 40-foot-long steel shipping container
that project members have transformed into a self-contained
facility with its own power generator and water system.
These elements were necessary because there are no public
utility systems in Kabul and minimal access to clean water, Rolfe
said.
The clinic will serve as a fully operational dental facility
with three operative rooms, a lab where necessary materials ““
like crowns ““ can be made, and a sterilization room.
Dentists and other volunteers can provide free dental care for
the needy while working in the clinic. In May, six dentists and a
group of auxiliary technicians will volunteer in Afghanistan and
work at this clinic for two weeks.
“We are going to be treating people from when the sun
rises until we pass out, practically. … We want it to be the most
intense two weeks it possibly can be,” said Shelly Annison, a
secretary at Rolfe’s office. Annison plans on volunteering in
May with the group of dentists.
The need is so great for dental care that dentists will provide
basic dental treatments, targeting orphans and specific orphanages,
Shahangian said.
Once the clinic arrives in Kabul, it will be placed on the
property of a local orphanage.
In addition, the facility will function as a training center,
where older orphans can learn dentistry skills to eventually treat
others.
“By that we are giving them a career … a life, an
education,” Shahangian said.
Training the Afghan people in dentistry and dentistry technology
became Rolfe’s goal after his initial trip to Afghanistan in
October 2003 made him realize how extensive the problem was. Dental
care is nonexistent and most people have never visited a dentist in
their lives, Rolfe said.
“It was a disaster anywhere you looked, and you had to
decide what is the one thing I could do to help this person,”
he added.
As he treated the people, Rolfe said he was touched by their
appreciation of dental care. When he left, he said the local
residents lined the streets and waved goodbye.
“They were so grateful, it made me cry,” he
said.
Earlier this week, in a new report issued by the United Nations,
Afghanistan ranked 173rd out of 178 countries in the United Nations
2004 Human Development Index. The report warned that if
improvements are not made in the health and economic conditions,
the country may revert to chaos and anarchy.
In May 2004, Rolfe went back to provide more treatment and took
500 pairs of shoes, largely donated by the Santa Barbara community,
to needy children. When Rolfe and the other volunteers go to Kabul
this year, they will distribute 1,200 shoes to children who
don’t own a pair.
Until subsequent plans are made, the clinic will close after
May’s team of volunteers leaves. Eventually, the project
hopes to have a full-time staff in Afghanistan.
The UCLA branch of the project currently has a membership of
dentistry students and is looking to expand to undergraduates.
Students from UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley are also involved in
helping the parent organization.
In addition, other student groups at UCLA are conducting aid
efforts to Afghanistan. This year, the Afghan Student Association
is focusing on raising funds and collecting material donations to
help the Afghanistan Relief Organization, a nonprofit humanitarian
group.
Daoud Mansour, co-president of the Afghan Student Association,
said members of the student group understand that they are part of
a larger community offering humanitarian aid.
They hope to promote further efforts to not only Afghanistan,
but other regions of the world, he said.
“It’s people like us who can slowly make a
difference,” Mansour added.