Life has been a little hectic this week. The health department is putting on a free mobile dental clinic at the apartments for all children (refugees and non-refugees) under the age of 16. Rounding up all of the children and getting parental consent forms signed for each one has by no means been a project that one could consider a small undertaking. On Monday, I knocked on every apartment door and in many cases mimed the action of a dental cleaning procedure for the family in order to convey the message of the services we were offering. Some of the kids were so excited to get their teeth cleaned and receive a sticker that it was a very rewarding day of work. The first two days of the clinic each child saw the dentist for a few brief minutes while she analyzed what exactly each individual would need done on their teeth and from there we scheduled appointments for them that will occur over the course of the next two weeks.
When one stops to consider all the services that these people are offered upon their arrival to the United States it is truly remarkable. All of the doctor appointments, dental clinics, driving services and more are quite detailed operations that require not only the skill of the individual carrying out the task, but also the dedicated logistical work of many individuals behind the scenes.
This summer has afforded me a front row view of how detail oriented one must be when working with individuals from another culture--no element of planning can be overlooked.
-- Jenna
-- Jenna
