Travel Stories

January 17, Siem Reap, Cambodia, by Xerxes Marduk

I spend the last six hours at a mobile dental clinic setup at a elementary school about 10km outside of the town of Siem Reap. I was there as a volunteer to help wherever help was needed. With me was my friend Tessa, who loves this kind of in-your-face getting to know the locals kind of relief work. I spend most o fmy time with gloves on up to my elbows cleaning dental tools of blood and grime in tubs of chemicals, so that they could immediately be reused. The clinic has been at this location for six days, and they have treated over 150 orphaned children at this location. Funded by the Baptist Outreach Program out of Utah, USA, and staffed by international volunteers, the professional dentists pulled teeth and filled cavities and taught the kids about dental hygiene. They have only enough Novocain here to give it to the ones getting their teeth pulled out, the ones getting fillings bear the pain with no pain killers. And the young children bear the pain with no screaming or wailing. I once got to shine a Mag flashlight into a little girl's mouth as the dentist pulled out two of her teeth. Through the pain and the blood in her mouth the girl very respectfully thanked the dentist and me. As soon as she got off the chair another girl took her place. Most of the children in these rural parts of Cambodia have never brushed their teeth in their lives. My friend Tessa took part in a dental hygiene demonstration for about 80 kids in the dusty playground at the school. All of the kids paid her the utmost attention and never took their eyes off of her. I had a talk with the director of the Baptist Outreach Program in Cambodia and he told me about their other programs: digging wells in 15 villages to provide 8000 people with clean water, giving wheelchairs to local hospitals, handing out eye glasses. The children who came in to get their teeth pulled never knew who paid for it, never knew that donations to the Baptist Church in the USA paid for the tools that were used on them today, and probably not caring ether. But I know the children would thank each and every one who helped them get rid of a painful tooth if they could.

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