KIDS (Kids International Dental Services)

Yesterday was the last of 4 days our team of volunteers worked at a school outside of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It was wonderful to have 4 consecutive days at the same school. Our team of 4 dentists led by Dr Kei Chan and 5 non dental volunteers saw 507 children in total. The children all received fluoride or varnish treatment. Those who needed received treatment of urgent dental needs. The director of the school, the teachers and some of the older children were a tremendous help as well!!

As we begin the month of February, we are packing our toothbrushes!! Next week a team of Dental and Non-Dental volunteers will be in Cambodia and within days of that we will have a team in The Philippines!! Stay tuned for updates and pictures of these two trips as well as upcoming trips to Morocco and Cape Verde!

As we begin 2020, we would like to wish a very Happy New Year to you and your families! We would also like to THANK those of you who made donations to KIDS in 2019. We raised over $5000 from Facebook donations!! With the help of those donations, In 2020 we will be helping the children in The Philippines, Cambodia, Morocco, Cape Verde and Guatemala! We would not be able to do this without your help, THANK YOU!

Since our last post, our team in Guatemala treated almost 2000 children! This was the 10th year for KIDS to send a team to treat the beautiful children of Guatemala. As we near Thanksgiving and the holiday season, we hope you remember us as a way to Pay it Forward. Watch out for exciting news in our travels in 2020! From our family to yours...Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays!

We are packing our bags again!! This time our trip takes us back to Guatemala. This will be our 10th year treating the children there. Our team of volunteers will meet up in Antigua, a lovely town not far from the airport. Our team will be led by Dr. Justin Newberry, Justin is a Doctor of Dental Surgery in Napa California. This will be his 7th trip to Guatemala. From Antigua the team will travel on an 8-9 hr ride on what we call the chicken bus to Nebaj, which is in the Mayan Highlands of Guatemala. Santa Maria Nebaj is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of El Quiche. Nebaj, is a part of the Ixil Community. Here are a few pictures from last year’s trip:

Our amazing team of volunteers just finished a week of work in Cabo Verde! They saw almost 2000 beautiful children. They educated, provided fluoride and treated those with urgent dental issues. The team of volunteers was led by Dr. Jason Lin and Alison Blue. There were two people in CV that were invaluable, Tony, the local coordinator and António Mauricio who is the Director of all schools. Thank you to all for the dedication and hard work!

We are packing our toothbrushes and equipment to head to our next trip! On May 2nd, a team of dental and non dental volunteers will take 2 flights and a ferry to get to Santo Antao, an Island of Cape Verde. Cape Verde is an Island country in the central Atlantic Ocean. It will be our third visit there and our team will see as many as 2000 children from 20 different schools. This trip wouldn’t be possible if not for our ground coordinator Tony who is a local of the island and has been helping KIDS with these trips and does it all from his heart! Stay tuned for updates and pictures from this trip.

From time to time we will be introducing one of our dedicated volunteers. Today we would like to introduce Dr. Rich Dela Rosa. Dr. Rich recently joined our team in the Philippines, it was his 9th trip with KIDS! Ten years ago, when he was a 3rd year dental student he was on his first trip, also in the Philippines. During those 10 years he has also been on trips to Cambodia where at times he led the Dental Team! Dr. Rich is a Pediatric Dentist in New Jersey, where he has 2 offices. When he is not helping children around the world, he is with his wife, 2 sons and his daughter. Thank you Dr. Rich for your time and dedication!

Another year with a great team, wonderful children, and unforgettable memories. Thanks Taguig for getting us to 10 years. See you next year!

Great thanks to every participant in our South Africa 2018 mission, to Barbara Ayre, and Sharon Dunn Dinkins Dymond for making the winter newsletter possible http://kidservices.org/k-i-d-s-in-south-africa-winter-2018/

K.I.D.S. Summer 2018 Newsletter

Thanks to Melissa Connell and her family and friends for their generosity. You guys are truly amazing!