Thursday, March 7, 2019
VOLUME 1 I ISSUE 36
MERIDIANSOURCE.CA
Dental trip a shoe-in for relief GEOFF LEE
WRITER
.................................. Dr. Nekky Jamal’s latest dental brigade to Guatemala will put a spring in the step of some of the women in line for dental care. The Wayside Dental Centre specialist will help distribute 20 pairs of women’s shoes donated by Brixton Shoes Inc. during one of six dental clinic days in the Central American country. Jamal heads out Saturday with the shoes in toe after just getting back from Costa Rica on another dental brigade. This will his fifth time to the mountainous Comitancillo region where some of the poorest people in the country live. “We’re hoping to fix some teeth and get rid of some pain that a lot of people are in and hopefully we can contribute and just make their lives a little bit better,” said Jamal. “I’ve gone to the same place over and over and I can’t wait to see familiar faces and
hopefully we can fix some more smiles.” The shoes will also provide relief to some local women who walk barefoot in corn fields over sharp objects. “It’s tough on their feet and I think it’s amazing that Brixton is approaching us, and they want to help out in any way they can,” said Jamal. “That’s why we started this whole project, to get our community helping another community a world, away and it’s really
coming together.” Mindy Hawthorne and her mom Sherry Gould, who co-own Brixton Shoes, chose to donate sidewalk surfers from Sanuk because they are easy to pack. They also
think it would be a good shoe in the high elevation climate. “They are really easy to wear and wash and they’re comfortable,” said Hawthorne. She says the idea was the brainchild of her mom who chatted
Dr. Nekky Jamal from Wayside Dental Centre welcomed a donation of 20 pairs of women’s shoes that he will distribute during his next 10-day dental brigade to Guatemala. The shoes were donated by Mindy Hawthorne, left, and her mom Sherry Gould, who co-own Brixton Shoes. Geoff Lee Meridian Source
with a member of one of Jamal’s previous dental brigades and thought it would be a great idea. Hawthorne also wished she had brought some shoes with her while vacationing in Nicaragua last November. “It turned out it was a good idea,” added Gould. “Nekky told us they walk on dried corn and it’s really sharp on their feet and they just have bare feet.” Jamal also plans to provide dental care in Nicaragua in April— his third of four possible dental missions this year. “We have to do our part— we really appreciate Mindy and Brixton Shoes jump-
ing in,” he said. Jamal’s previous brigade to Costa Rica included an optometrist, but the main purpose in Guatemala is to fix teeth with a 20-person team, including five dentists and three dental students. Jamal is also taking Wayside dental assistant Katelyn Gosse on this 10-day trip along with all the dental equipment they use at the office to treat their own patients. “We bring our generators, our dental unit, our drills and we do white and silver fillings and we take out a lot of teeth, unfortunately,” he said. Jamal says the people in Comitancillo drink lots of pop with pop being cheaper than fresh water in many remote villages. He says the work is rewarding for him perso nal l y , bu t i t’s al so heartbreaking too. “Every time you come home you leave a piece of yourself there and I find that’s the hardest part—is coming home,” he said.