First dental school in Liberia ?

Dear friends, We are sorry to have taken so long to give you news. We are thinking of you and are so grateful for all your messages, calls, emails and support.

A dental therapy school

This is a milestone for a country that currently has 7 dentists for a population of approximately 4 million. The Liberian Dental Therapy School opened its doors in early October. This is a very big step that we hope will open a future for "dental care for all" to the Liberian people. We currently have 8 students, 4 of whom are already part of our staff at the clinic. The other 4 are women who have left their families and villages to dedicate themselves to this 2 year training. They will then return to their villages to serve and provide basic dental care (extraction, prevention, treating abscesses).

Perhaps you remember my expedition to a village in eastern Liberia in February of this year! A patient by the name of Vestee came and I extracted her tooth in that village. Today, she is one of our students!!! My colleague Simon has done and continues to do an extraordinary job for this new school. As for me, I am present on Monday and Thursday mornings for the practical phase of their training at the clinic.

Another big transition

As you know, we took over the management of SIM Liberia in September. The transition into this new role as directors is not easy. We are working hard and facing challenges far greater than our own strengths can bear. But the good news is that we are well surrounded and through our faith, we can experience a peace that is not dependent on circumstances. This peace, of course, is not constant. It comes and goes. But often it comes back just in time to give us the strength to go on and move on.

We will expand on what we are doing in our next newsletter.

In the meantime, we thank you for your commitment to us. We send you our thoughts and affection.

Melvina, Nicolas, Théotime, Siméon, Gabriel and Caleb