More funds raised for Narooma dentist's Cambodia mercy mission

Under the banner of the Rotary Cambodia Dental Team Project, Ms White will lead a five-member team that will spend 14 days in May treating children from families living on the rubbish dumps around Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh.

She has previously done volunteer work in isolated indigenous communities in the Kimberley in Western Australia as well as Indonesia, and told those gathered at Friday’s fundraiser that she was excited about her latest trip. 

“I feel really privileged to be going,” she said. “But you have to develop what I call detached compassion. You just want to bundle up the little darlings and bring them home, but you have to say, I am here as a dentist to do a job and then come home.”

The team is fortunate to be able to use a dental clinic set up by Australian dentist Robert Ogle, who spends two weeks a month in Phnom Penh and two weeks at his Gympie practice, as well as use his translators. Some of the money raised will also be used to transport kids in from the tip in tuk tuks.

“We’ll use the funds raised in Narooma to buy the disposable things we need, like needles, anaesthetics, filling material, gauze,” she said. “We’ll buy them here and carry them over and leave anything left over for the clinic.”

They have allowed for extra baggage and among the supplies are the all-important toothbrushes, and they also had basic drawings to show brushing techniques to the children. 

Cambodian children and others in developing nations often had very poor dental hygiene, possibly due to poor diets often high in sugar, she said.

“You have to go with your eyes wide open and see what it is that your dealing with when you get there,” she said.

The team also consists of Narooma dental assistant Sharon White, Rotarians from the Gold Coast dental hygienist Sharyn Tagahoade and Hilda Resburn, and German dentist Marlene Schulz. All team members pay their own airfares and living expenses.

The Narooma community has rallied behind Ms White with various fundraisers being held to help get extra equipment and supplies for the trip. Click here for previous story

There will continue to be other fundraisers around Narooma in the next month, so stay tuned and lend a hand if you can.