Dental Outreach and Baboons

This week was something else.. My second big project was this week, and it was an interesting experience. For a couple weeks I’ve planned to do a dental outreach at an orphanage. I had 2 dentists hired but one cancelled the week before and the other cancelled the night before.. So I found another dentist and she did a great job! We checked around 60 kids, removed teeth from about 20 of them, and afterwards treated about 30 adults. In addition I got to deworm 136 more kids! The people here were so strong; there were few tears over removed teeth.

Picture of Immaculate (the dentist) removing teeth (We had to use our phones as flashlights all day)

The next morning I taught several classes about First Aid and STDs. The kids love it and always have amazing questions. Some of the questions I’ve been asked are if peeing on burns is good treatment, if putting salt or sugar in cuts is good, if gun cleaning oil is an acceptable pain killer, or if liquor works for wounds as well as medical alcohol. I’m not sure who came up with these solutions but I’m happy to fix their misconceptions.

Younger Siblings of the kids I taught. 

Picture of another project moving bricks to make a piggery. I could only carry 2 bricks per trip...

After pulling off those projects I got to end the week with a safari. Never tell a travel agent to find the cheapest option because.. well.. There aren’t words for this weekend. Also, baboons are not cute. I now have a completely rational fear of them. They were crawling on the bars over my windows all day and night and I felt like I was in a concentration camp. When harmlessly sitting in my taxi one decided to crawl in with me…… Thankfully he didn’t come all the way in.

Picture of Baboons and warthogs guarding the bathroom. I decided I'd rather not go. 

Even though the baboons were terrifying, the giraffes and elephants and hippos and alligators made up for it.

Picture of me in my giraffe shirt with giraffes

We could've touched this guy.. 

On the way home I got to see some awesome cave paintings. To other people in my group it was “extremely anticlimactic”, but to me it’s incredible that this paint has stayed for over 5000 years. THAT is a successful artists. Next week I'm painting a school- maybe 5000 years from now people will travel to see it too ;)