Bishop Asili Hospital Dentist, Jane Mandera, pictured right with Puja Shah and Dental Beneficiaries

Dental care has always been something that I have taken for granted. My mother was adamant that we get our teeth cleaned and checked every six months, and we were lucky enough to always have the insurance to cover our dental care. At 35, I have never had a cavity or any other major problem with my teeth and am probably one of very few people who actually likes going to the dentist.

It’s a much different story for most people living in Uganda. As Jane Mandera, the dentist at the Bishop Caesar Asili Hospital told me, many people can’t afford dental care. She said her patients often shun her advice because they know they can’t afford basic treatment. Many say, “eh, just keep on removing the teeth,” which is much more affordable than receiving annual cleanings, fillings and restorative work.

Jane joined the staff at Bishop Asili in 2009 after completing her degree in public health and general dentistry at the Mulago Paramedical School. At that time, the hospital’s dental unit only had a hard wooden straight back chair for patients to sit in while Jane worked on their teeth and a wooden table for her meager equipment. In 2010 Jane met Vivian Glyck, Founder and Executive Director at Just Like My Child Foundation (JLMC). Accompanying Vivian was a pediatric dentist, Dr Puja Shah, who came to the hospital with her dental instruments and the intention of mentoring and helping Jane perform extractions and other dental work. However, Dr. Puja was unprepared for the poor condition of the hospital’s dental unit. Using the wooden chair and table she spent one week assisting Jane in the clinic. After her touching experience, Dr. Puja went back to the States with stories and photos to start raising money to upgrade the standard of the clinic.

 

Bishop Asili Dental Clinic Before .. and After

Dr. Puja and her colleague, Lidia Trainer, engaged their community and raised the funds to equip the dental unit with a proper dental chair and dental instruments so Jane can comfortably and effectively serve the needs of her patients.

Jane says, “Now with the chair and instruments I receive the greatest joy when clients come back for follow up care and I see that they are following the advice that I gave them.” She says she still faces many challenges. Material for dental fillings is very expensive. So the hospital often runs short of these materials. Jane says right now she doesn’t have any materials for restorative treatments, like fillings. The fillings cost a patient 20,000 Ugandan shillings, less than $10. The materials cost anywhere between $40 and $80 depending on the type of filling material. One package of material could last through 50 people needing fillings.

Jane always dreamed of being a dentist and delivering the best dental treatment. Relieving the clients of their pain and ensuring that they can have good dental hygiene is her ultimate goal. “Oral hygiene is really bad among my clients. I educate them how to maintain and take care of their teeth. I follow up with their care and see that they return for cleanings. They learn to take better care of their teeth,” says Jane. Before Dr. Puja,’s visit, Jane explained she was feeling discouraged working with so many inadequacies. “People needed so much, but we had so little; we couldn’t provide all the treatments. The visit with Dr. Puja, motivated me to reach out to the community and realize my dream again. They [JLMC and Dr. Puja] touched my life so much.”

She hopes in time the hospital will be able to afford a full dental unit. Currently, they do not have the resources to do dentures or crowns. She explains that people don’t like to be referred to Kampala for needed dental treatment. They feel discouraged because the transportation and stay in Kampala are additional expenses they cannot afford. “People come see me and they can’t even open their mouths the infection is so bad,” Jane says.

Contributions to the dental clinic are part of the Keep a Mother Alive program implemented by JLMC. A $100 contribution will help Jane and the Bishop Asili hospital purchase filling materials and other dental equipment for patients in dire need of dental work.

Gyriadda Girls Participate in a Girls Empowerment Workshop 2/12

One of those communities, St. Kizito, Gyriadda faced several struggles over the past two years, which initially had delayed the building of their school. A major challenge was the discovery of a defilement case right before their project was to begin. JLMC found out through its Girl Power Program that the nursery school teacher was sexually abusing his girl students, and had been for several years. When the community members learned of the abuse, they felt they had no recourse since corruption is so rampant within the local justice system and the teacher was so well known within the community.

Another struggle facing the community has been impoverishment. Because of the high poverty in the area, the community members struggled to gather local resources: sand, stones, and clay bricks required as a co-investment by JLMC to construct the school building. In cases like Gyriadda, JLMC must exercise patience and provide encouragement as communities together find solutions to issues that delay their progress. Community contributions are critical to deep development; it builds community ownership over a project, ensuring the community will maintain the project well into the future.

With the help of JLMC, the Gyriadda community has overcome many of their struggles one by one and has made great progress in 2011. Through JLMC’s Project Justice, a human rights workshop was held for community members to promote the rights of women and children and to prevent more cases of sexual abuse. As a result of the workshop, the community was successful in chasing the teacher involved in the defilement out of town with the help of local police.

As of November 2011, the construction of the school is back on track. The roof has just been added to the building, which will have three classrooms and an office for the principal. JLMC also contributed to the construction of a latrine for teachers and students.

Skilled Labourers Work to Add Roofing to St. Kizito, Gyriadda’s School Building 2/12

Teachers, school board members and PTA members received two professional development workshops to improve the learning environment of the school and to help increase student performance.

63 girls participated in three Girl Power workshops to increase their capacities for self-empowerment, leadership potential and social survival skills. When asked during the first Girl Power workshop of 2012, girls reported no cases of defilement since the sensitization campaign. A major success!

Yet, despite these magnificent accomplishments, the Gyriadda community, as well as the four other school communities sponsored by JLMC, still have many challenges to overcome. Many of the schools lack chairs and desks, critical for a conducive learning environment. Instructional materials are also limited in many of the schools.

Access to health care and health education is limited, and income generation activities in the schools to support extracurricular activities like drama and sports is nonexistent.

In 2012, JLMC has exciting plans for its Universal Education Program, which hopes to address the aforementioned challenges.

JLMC will

• Provide furniture and instructional resources to improve learning environments
• Provide the opportunity for schools to generate income  to give students lunch and opportunities for extracurricular activities
• Increase student and teacher’s ability to deal with relevant health issues in their communities
• Increase the capacity of school management committees to manage operations, solve community problems and supervise education through capacity building workshops.
• Increase the capacity of teachers to deliver well planned lessons
• Ensure that schools meet national standards as laid out by Department of Education

However, JLMC cannot reach its goals without your support. Here are ways you can help:

For only $1,000 you can  furnish an entire classroom, so that children are not seated on the floor during lessons.

For only $100 you can help fund a much needed professional development workshop for teachers and school boards.

For only $200 you can help fund dental hygiene outreach.

Donate today to further improve the lives of the thousands of children that JLMC serves through its Project Universal Education.

George William

Construction Supervisor

George William was the fabrication Genius behind JLMCF’s Universal Education Program. He worked with our Project Coordinators to create school building plans and then transforms those creations into safe and shining learning environments where eager and knowledge hungry Ugandan children can thrive.

George William was a person whom you would never hear gloat, but we will not hesitate to brag about the wealth of experience that this accomplished man brought to our team. A moment in his presence told the story of an individual with a steady and true wisdom that comes with years of life and building experience. He was well known and respected within the communities we serve and came highly recommended by our Project Coordinators. Before joining us on our first ever school building project, George William worked for decades in building schools with Plan International. He never failed to continually design feasible and appropriate blueprints, budgets and plans that incorporate JLMCF’s methodology and vision. He commanded a quiet respect within every community he worked with, while at the same time setting an essential standard for ethical building practices. George William had a knack for transforming perceived community constraints and limitations into opportunities for creative building solutions. He acted as a professional mentor and guide to both skilled labor and unskilled volunteers, who were contributing to the building process with an aim to achieve capacity building, community ownership and participation. Since joining our team as Construction Supervisor in 2008, he had proven an efficient builder, maintaining quality and safety, while still coming in under budget, which allowed for JLMCF to spread our resources across a larger population of communities in need of school buildings. George William had a gift for turning our big ideas and inspirations into real life sanctuaries for learning. Our favorite grandfather who certainly got the job done will be greatly missed and always honored.

George William’s capacity building contributions to our programs and his expert building plans will continue to be drawn upon by JLMCF. Our school building projects are currently being carried out by his skilled apprentice, Mr. Akwong Janan Wilson, who has now graduated to Construction Supervisor through George William’s guidance and support.

President Museveni said, “I would encourage you to abstain rather than thinking that you would survive on ARVs. These drugs make you live longer but you are no longer a complete person. This is something I have witnessed within the army.”

“Out of 100 children born to infected mothers, there is a 10 percent risk of transmitting the virus to babies born to mothers who are on ARVs. This means that there is still a risk even when ARVs are available,” said Museveni.

I was happy to read that the Ugandan President showed concern for his people and that he offered 50,000 US dollars to a Ugandan community in Rwanda, which was used to set up an auto-mechanic training garage and a residential house for rent. And in other news concerning HIV/AIDS in Uganda, Health Minister Christine Ondoa made a remark that HIV/AIDS can be cured through prayer. The Observer newspaper quoted her to have had a first hand experience with people she claimed was infected by the HIV/AIDS virus but after a series of prayer tested negative.

Head of The AIDS Support Organization (TASO), Richard Ochai said such statements continuously curtail TASO efforts to fight against HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, he relies on science and the fact that ARVs must be taken because without the virus will appear again.

There are a few grey areas here that I would rather not get into but I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter:

Does abstaining from pre-marital sex really protect against contracting the HIV/AIDS virus in Uganda? (Consider this fact from Avert.org: Women are disproportionately affected, accounting for 57 percent of all adults living with HIV.)

Do you think prayer alone can cure HIV/AIDS? If so, how?

You can read more about the article here or by clicking the links below:
- Ugandan President offers HIV Tips
- Minister’s Comment on HIV/AIDS Careless, say Experts

Puja Shah graduated from Tufts School of Dental Medicine in 2007 and in 2008 completed her general practice residency at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, NY. She works as a dentist in a pediatric practice in Riverside, CA. On a local level, she is involved in community outreach via public health programs such as the UCSD Free Dental Clinics. She has done grant research on the need for dental treatment in trauma cases for victims of domestic violence, which enabled women of shelters throughout Boston, MA to receive free dental care. Her long-term career goals include international outreach and education.

This past May was Shah’s second visit to Uganda with The Just Like My Child Foundation.

Here’s what we asked, and in Puja’s own words, what she said:

How did you get involved with The Just Like My Child Foundation? Why JLMCF?

Vivian and I met through our husbands, both Internet marketing geniuses. We got together a few years ago, in La Jolla one evening, just the two of us, when I had first moved to San Diego from New York. We hit it off right away. After all, she is a New York girl at heart But we shared more than just similar interests; we shared a passion to want to make a difference in the world around us. I loved hearing her talk about JLMCF, I loved its message of deep development, and loved her story of starting it. It inspired me to take action.

What was your first impression from your first visit to the clinic to now?

The dental clinic has grown in so many ways and we hope continues to grow.

When we first created the dental clinic, we just had a small wooden chair and little table. Now it is two rooms and we have a brand new dental chair! We have state of the art restorative (filling) materials as well. It’s so amazing to know that patients will have high quality dental care. These people deserve the best and that’s what the clinic and Dr. Jane, the local dentist, can offer them since she is equipped with the proper instruments and supplies and of course dental chair unit.

What is your favorite moment/memory from your visits?

There is a mesh of favorites for me. Apart from the stories of seeing patients, and the precious moments I shared while treating them, some of my favorite moments were connecting with Dr. Jane and the people who work in the hospital. It was always intriguing to me to discuss her story and what she had to go through to become a dentist.

Is there a particular patient or visit that stands out most with you?

It’s hard to narrow it down to just one. These kids, their eyes and voices stay with you. I can’t describe what it feels like; the feeling is just so pure. There was one girl, who needed a lot of dental, but she was scared and nervous. She had teeth extracted before when she was younger, as per her mom, by the witch doctors of the area. There is a belief in Uganda that if a child’s canine teeth erupt prior to their incisor teeth (front teeth) then it is unlucky or like the devil. Therefore, witch doctors extract the teeth and it impedes proper development of the other teeth, of jaw relation. She had another tooth that was extracted as well and her mother said she just had bad teeth. We educated her on brushing or proper oral care so that she could save what she had and so her other permanent teeth wouldn’t have the same number of cavities. She was shy and didn’t speak to us the whole appointment. Then at one point, she looked up at me and started singing. Her head was turned down, and she was smiling at me. It was so beautiful.

There was also a 3-year-old boy who needed many extractions. Almost every tooth of his was what we call ‘bombed out’ which means cavities extending so deep that there is no tooth structure remaining and just mainly black stubs remaining. When we told his father who was with him that all his upper teeth were sources if infection due the cavities, the boy responded, “No, that’s not true, only my bottom teeth have cavities.” We laughed because he probably said that because he could not see how damaged his back teeth in his upper jaw were and also since he was so observant and aware that we were talking about him. We needed to anesthetize him via injections so he sat in his father’s lap. He was of course, not happy about that, and when we were done, he climbed off the chair out of his father’s arms with his arms flailing and said “Stop, just stop! Do not give me any more injections! I have been struck with Malaria because I am shaking!” We hugged him, told him he didn’t have malaria; he was just such a character. When we were finished, he was crying from the procedure but stopped, took money out of his father’s shirt pocket and handed us the larger of the 2 bills he found. We started laughing and told him no, it’s okay.   He even smiled at us before he left.

There were kids who would sit and point to areas in their mouth that were painful. I would know when I’d see the teeth that these things were hurting them for awhile and they would sit there so still during the
extractions, that I knew they just wanted to be out of pain finally. Often they would take our hand and say thank you or bend down on knees and kneel to us, their way of showing gratitude. It always warmed my heart.

If you had one story to tell about your most recent visit, which one would it be?

Finally having the dental chair installed! Getting that dental chair implemented was not a simple task, but rather a battle of its own. We had to call engineers every single morning to be sure they were coming, since the track record of many was not good. Finally, at the end of our stay, we got one out there, and our chair was installed and working! It was amazing to see it there, after knowing how hard we worked to get it installed.

What was an average day like for you?

An average day consisted of heading over to the clinic and starting at 9 am. There were already kids who were lined up around the door and down the hospital corridor. The other dentist, Dr. Jane, gave every child a number to hold their place. Lidia would manage the kids outside, teach them OHI (oral hygiene instruction), and bring in the next one and help us get set up for each patient since we were bringing them in and out at a fast pace to see the most children possible. Some kids who were scared or in a lot of pain required more attention and coaxing, so with those, Dr. Jane and I would assist one another and take more time with them. At some point in the afternoon, we would realize we hadn’t eaten lunch and when the instruments were all used and in the sterilizer, we would go eat something and tell all the patients who were waiting to do so also. The sterilizer took one hour to sterilize and cool off instruments so we would return in an hour and resume seeing patients until about 6 pm. On our last day of the clinic, we went until 7 or 7:30 pm, and even that felt like it was not enough. There were so many children with needs and in pain. We ended up treating about 150-200 children as an estimate in the 5 days our free clinic was open.

Did you partake in the May Mango Madness? If so, what was your favorite mango fever moment?

Mango Madness! I love it Lidia and I climbed the mango tree on the day we left and sat on a branch together overlooking our little world we had gotten so used to and had grown to love. It felt like the perfect ending to our trip since we had mangos every morning with breakfast and even started to figure out which types were the stringy
ones vs. sweeter etc. One morning at breakfast, Vivian’s little boy was eating one and probably decided the mango was his science experiment calling it a volcano as it squeezed out onto his face and shirt because it was so juicy. It was so fun to have him there. He made us laugh every morning and even in the evenings after seeing so many sad cases in the clinic, it felt good to come back to the guest house and know that this healthy little boy would be being silly and smiling.

I am just so grateful for JLMCF to continue to inspire me, to search and find meaning in all that I do. This trip was amazing.

~

Thank you, Dr. Puja Shah. For more information about The Just Like My Child Foundation or if you would like to make a contribution, please click here.

Photo by Lidia Trainer-Domagalska

The pregnant women in the Ugandan villages are often adolescent girls who should be worried about tomorrow’s spelling test or having silly talks with their girlfriends.  Sometimes they are married women or young women forced into their situation. Nonetheless, they inspire me because despite many obstacles they carry on without showing much fear. With very little to no exposure to prenatal care or access to delivery services or emergency obstetric care, these young women appear to be fearless and ready to face their future, which may include a motorcycle ride on uneven dirt roads, while in labor, to the nearest medical facility.

However, according to experts, adolescent mothers are twice as likely as older mothers to die during childbirth and only 41% of births are attended by skilled personnel. Furthermore, most of those young mothers are poor, uneducated, and are more likely to deliver at home than in a hospital which puts them at the highest risk of death.

“Pregnant adolescents are in a dark void of helplessness and hopelessness, waiting to be rescued,” says Dr. Olive Ssentumbwe Mugisa, the WHO advisor on family and population health.

A young mother-to-be should never feel hopeless.  One of my wishes for these young women is that they have a safe place where they can learn about pregnancy, the importance of prenatal care, and a skilled person or doctor who can deliver the baby in any situation.

Since its founding, Just Like My Child Foundation and Bishop Asili Hospital have been providing pre-natal care and education and most emergency obstetrical interventions, including C-sections, ultrasound diagnosis, infrastructure for blood supply and AIDS treatment and medical staff to care for post-partum mother and child.

I am very happy to report the maternal mortality rate in the catchment area of Bishop Asili has been drastically reduced because of access to this care. A gleaming new surgical facility staffed by highly trained physicians awaits a mother in any form of distress. An ultrasound machine allows doctors to diagnose quickly, and allows a mother to see her baby’s heartbeat. Two ambulances are available to bring her to the hospital if she’s waited until labor has already started, no motorcycle required.

That is Project Keep A Mother Alive. It’s as simple as educating and alleviating some fears in young expectant mothers and even seasoned veterans in motherhood. Changing a life for the better isn’t hard – Just $30 will help save a mother’s life today. By clicking here, you can donate and jump-start a new life in the right direction.

Routine dental visits are something we take for granted. However, Ugandan families cannot afford such luxuries and it puts children at great risk. Dr. Shah says, “Children who have dental disease generally cannot eat well, become unhealthy, malnourished, and are at risk for infections of the oral cavity such as dental abscess. The infection can spread to other glands and can lead to death when left untreated. Last year a little girl nearly died when a tooth infection spread to her glands. We were able to treat her and a child in extreme pain and danger went away happy and smiling. It takes so little to change a life!”

Currently patients at the clinic have to sit in a wooden school chair for treatment. Can you imagine? All this will change once the new, state-of-the-art dental chair is installed. Dr. Shah will also provide preventive care and treatment to hundreds of children and training to an eager staff. On average, she tends to see 40 to 60 patients a day with a focus mostly on children; they flock from the area for check-ups and procedures.

Dr. Shah and Ms. Domagalska Trainer will start their day at 9 am  and end at around 6 pm. On the last visit, along with resident dentist, Dr. Jane, they cared for a child every 15 – 20 minutes on a first come, first serve basis. Dr. Shah says “by providing dental care and education on oral hygiene education to children who would otherwise have no access at all, we are changing their quality of life in a tremendous way. While treating them, I talk to them about their goals and dreams, listen to them and provide positive encouraging words, smiles and love to take home and hopefully inspire them.”

In the past, Lidia has distributed Chinese herbs to women infected with malaria, typhoid, HIV, AIDS, and other serious conditions. She focuses on alternative medicine and is interested in providing preventive, non-invasive as well as affordable health care as a future practitioner. She also works hand in hand with Dr. Shah, teaching good dental hygiene practice and preventive measures to children waiting to be seen by the dentists. Both Dr. Shah and Lidia have taught the children songs to sing to help alleviate any fears or stress about their visit.

Lidia says it best about our mission and goals this month to Uganda, “We work towards our mission one step at a time.  In order to set up a fully functioning dental clinic a lot of resources and work are required.  Every time we go, a part of that goal gets accomplished. For example, on our first trip we’ve arrived with only dental instruments and trained the resident dentist to perform services after our departure.  That was an improvement for an area without any previous dental care available.  It was still a very rudimentary set up with only a wooden chair and no sophisticated equipment. This time, we were able to raise enough funds for a dental chair, which is being installed right now. We’ve been very fortunate to receive a lot of support in the US in the form of monetary and instrument donations. The purchased and donated supplies will travel in our suitcases and be delivered to the clinic. In the future, we hope to provide an autoclave and x-ray machine.”

However awful the course of the virus can be on a person or family with few resources, small communities and rural villages in Uganda in association with the Asili Hospital and Just Like My Child have chosen life. They choose to work through the pain and create a safety net for their children and in most cases their children’s children. Project Grace is a microenterprise project at its best. By Guiding Resources And Creating Empowerment (GRACE) in the most needy communities, Project GRACE provides a small loan (poultry or livestock) together with intensive training to healthy, self-motivated individuals with AIDS to create a self-sustaining business that will support their families and send their children to school.

I ask, “What’s AIDS got to do with it?” because the chances of meeting a person with AIDS in Uganda is far greater than meeting someone here in the States. I also ask that because here in the U.S., those infected are not far from support groups, health care, or a free public education system, which their children can attend. In developing countries, such as Uganda, access to AIDS treatment is extremely limited, the stigma of the disease causes those affected to withdraw and sink further into poverty, and the financial fall out is devastating for a family.  Just Like My Child believes in giving a hand up, never a hand out by assisting with access to AIDS treatment, providing support through health care workers that visit patients at their homes, and proven results through microenterprise initiatives.

Project GRACE participants are responsible for gathering material and building shelter for their animals, which are raised for food, trade and sale. They learn how to use their garden and livestock in sustainable and environmentally healthy ways: Gardens help feed the animals and animals provide natural fertilizer for the garden. At the end of the program, participants repay their loan by bringing a pair of their animal’s offspring back to Asili Hopsital, enabling Project GRACE to continue a cycle of empowering future participants with tools to achieve self-sustenance. The project provides intensive training to healthy, self-motivated individuals with HIV to create a self-sustaining business that will support their families and send their children to school.

Lastly, did you know all this can happen with a mere $400 contribution? That $400 provides a family of six with a sustainable business… this truly is the gift that keeps on giving. For more information on Project Grace please click here or visit Just Like My Child.

But the most fun and fulfilling part of the trip was spending a lot of time with the six children we are sponsoring in boarding schools as part of our Mandela Project. Just three short years ago, these children were destined to live a voiceless, nameless existence in one of the poorest villages in the areas we serve — they, like so many others, were at risk of death through early pregnancy and marriage. Several of their parents were on the verge of death from AIDS. These six children have grown and have become such an inspiration to their villages and have made me so proud.

Today, our kids are BIG (they’ve grown so much).  They are speaking English, reading fluently and at the top of their classes. Their parents are on AIDS treatment and they are healthy with new income-generating businesses that are alleviating their heavy burden. The students are full of ideas and fun and have a bit of attitude like all good teenagers. Healthy teenagers!

Witnessing their growth and development is like a metaphor for all of our work in Uganda — slowly by slowly the seeds have been planted, the roots are strong, and the fruit of our work is ripening. The communities are thriving, the children are healthy, and the elders are growing stronger. With so much community in the air it makes one realize how small efforts make tremendous differences.

If you would like more information about Just Like My Child and it’s specialized programs, contact Vivian Glyck at info@justlikemychild.org.  To donate please click here

The Just Like My Child Foundation has received crucial donations from the Clinton Foundation in the past, which has provided Uganda with the essential CD-4 Analyzer, a piece of laboratory equipment used in the diagnosis of AIDS. The pleasure of meeting President Clinton along with other celebrities such as Chelsea Clinton, Blake Griffin, Maria Bello, Michael Strahan, and Drake was a great honor for me.

James Malinchak, ABC’s Secret Millionaire has also provided Just Like My Child with a generous donation – a school. Malinchak raised enough funds for Ugandan children in the village of Namumira to attend a clean, bright, and safe school that they previously would never have been able to access. The school has four classrooms, which provides education for 200 students as well as a bright promise for the future.

Through the help of The Clinton Foundation and ABC’s Secret Millionaire James Malinchak the Just Like My Child Foundation is successfully providing holistic solutions to poverty and helping Ugandan families experience the power of potential. I am forever gracious for the donations and contributions from organizations such as the Clinton Foundation and people like James Malinchak.

I started Just Like My Child because I was eager to make a difference in the lives of other mothers and children. The efforts of The Clinton Foundation and James Malinchak enable many people to know the joy of helping to save and enrich lives. Just Like My Child’s commitment is to create a world where all children feel joy and happiness by experiencing his or her full potential.