Working Solo

This morning, a Dentist came from Jama to present on CNH. Jennifer asked me to help out my taking photos of the presentation, and of the families that came. She gave a great presentation, then the Dentist cleaned all of the kids’ teeth. I took photos of the families when they were done, and then more of the babies and little kids that got their teeth cleaned. It was so interesting, because no one in the community has ever been to a dentist. Some of them have terrible overbites, and some really need braces, but that is not something they can afford. It’s really sad, and a lot of adults are missing teeth or have really bad teeth. I never realized how much more care American’s, or wealthier countries take of themselves. The dentist, doctor, eye doctor, and other types of specialists are normal to see for me, but these kids will never have that. It is sad to think that some have problems eating because of their teeth, or that they can’t really see anything because they need glasses, but no one will ever know.

Kari and her godson

Santiago, another host cousin

Families

My neighbors

BABIES!

Later, Kari had a meeting, so I ran library alone. It was just me and the kids, and I tried to capture their attention by reading a book about the forest and making the animals noises. They really liked it, and I had their full attention for about 10 minutes, which is huge for them. Slowly, they trickled out, and I was left with the better behaved kids sitting and listening.

That night, Fabiola, Kari, and I packed up and left on a night bus to Quito.