Source: Northwest Medical Teams International
Barbara Agnew
Website: http://www.nwmedicalteams.org
(PORTLAND, ORE. - Jan. 3, 2007) When Oregon dentist Dale Canfield began volunteering with Northwest Medical Teams in 1999, little did he know that his heart to serve would take him on an annual pilgrimage to the orphanages of Cambodia.
Today, Dr. Canfield and a team of 18 volunteers arrive in Ratanakiri, Cambodia, where the group will care for hundreds of orphans, many of whom have never even heard of a dentist.
The two-week trip is a labor of love for the volunteers, particularly for a local Cambodian who fled the Khmer Rouge in 1979 for America. Dr. Frank Young came to Oregon as a teenager unable to speak English and with no resources. Now a practicing dentist in Portland, Dr. Young is committed to helping his home country by returning there annually to volunteer his dental skills.
An Oregon High School senior Tara Tep also joins the team. Tep, of Cambodian descent, plans to pursue dentistry after her undergraduate studies at Stanford University. Additional team members include volunteers from Washington and Oregon.
Orphans are not hard to find in Cambodia, the legacy of Pol Pot's regime in the 1970s and HIV and AIDS more recently has left many children parentless. In the absence of good health care, rotten teeth and infected mouths are also abundant. During Dr. Canfield's first trip to Cambodia in 2002, he and his team extracted more than 1,000 teeth.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for people from the Pacific Northwest to care for children who desperately need our help," says Dr. Canfield. "It's a team effort of dental volunteers, students and lay workers who are committing their time and resources to make a difference."
Since 1979, Northwest Medical Teams has sent more than 1,600 volunteer teams to some of the most impoverished and devastated areas in the world. The relief organization has shipped more than $900 million in humanitarian aid to more than 100 countries. Forbes Magazine has named Northwest Medical Teams to its list of 10 Gold-Star charities for its efficient use of donor dollars.
Today, Dr. Canfield and a team of 18 volunteers arrive in Ratanakiri, Cambodia, where the group will care for hundreds of orphans, many of whom have never even heard of a dentist.
The two-week trip is a labor of love for the volunteers, particularly for a local Cambodian who fled the Khmer Rouge in 1979 for America. Dr. Frank Young came to Oregon as a teenager unable to speak English and with no resources. Now a practicing dentist in Portland, Dr. Young is committed to helping his home country by returning there annually to volunteer his dental skills.
An Oregon High School senior Tara Tep also joins the team. Tep, of Cambodian descent, plans to pursue dentistry after her undergraduate studies at Stanford University. Additional team members include volunteers from Washington and Oregon.
Orphans are not hard to find in Cambodia, the legacy of Pol Pot's regime in the 1970s and HIV and AIDS more recently has left many children parentless. In the absence of good health care, rotten teeth and infected mouths are also abundant. During Dr. Canfield's first trip to Cambodia in 2002, he and his team extracted more than 1,000 teeth.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for people from the Pacific Northwest to care for children who desperately need our help," says Dr. Canfield. "It's a team effort of dental volunteers, students and lay workers who are committing their time and resources to make a difference."
Since 1979, Northwest Medical Teams has sent more than 1,600 volunteer teams to some of the most impoverished and devastated areas in the world. The relief organization has shipped more than $900 million in humanitarian aid to more than 100 countries. Forbes Magazine has named Northwest Medical Teams to its list of 10 Gold-Star charities for its efficient use of donor dollars.
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