By: Karen Coleman
In 2019 when Arhaus announced a raffle to win a trip with Global Dental Relief as a General Volunteer, I was so excited for the winner to be revealed. Then, when I learned I would be going, I was overwhelmed to be the recipient of such an enormous gift. THANK YOU! Then, after months of planning, we received word my trip in March of 2020 would need to be postponed due to the pandemic. The next clinic I registered for that July was also canceled and so were all subsequent clinics until 2022!
During that time, GDR was able to develop a food scarcity program for the families in Nepal and Guatemala which were the most affected by Covid-19. Some clients were out of work due to the lack of tourism, others depend upon family working abroad who could not reach them. Additionally, GDR opened 2 new locations! One in Mexico, another in Kentucky making a total, at that time, of 9 countries served via 13 clinics. An incredible success which only made me more eager to participate.
I was finally able to enroll in the clinic taking place in August of 2024 and before I knew it, I was landing in Guatemala City. The open air queue at arrivals was a throng of cars and vendors peddling souvenirs, competing for space while eager families were perched on the wall of the parking area above us waiting for their people to appear. I quickly found my driver, then we waited for 2 other volunteers, Aurora and Anaya, to arrive from the U.S. Before exhaustion, fueled by sunshine and dramamine, took over, we chatted for a bit in the shuttle. I learned the girls, Anaya and Aurora, were both from the Atlanta area and, at one time, worked together at a dental practice. After a couple of long hours, we turned from a dense jungle onto the roughly cobbled streets of La Antigua Guatemala.
The old colonial capital city is busy and vibrant. The sky is framed by a group of volcanic vents; Agua, Pacaya and Fuego which have helped create incredibly fertile soil and great veins of Jade in more than a half dozen colors in the region. And the textiles! Not enough can be said about the rioting colors and craftsmanship of their pieces; I wanted so many things.
Our first 2 nights, we stayed at the Good Hotel whose motto is “sleep good, do good”. When you book a night at Good Hotel Antigua, a contribution is made to Niños de Guatemala which sponsors 7 days of schooling for a local child. My room was called Esperanza and featured the girl’s photo and a short biography of her life, interests and family. Their organization also reinvests profits into community enrichment programs and social causes worldwide so if you are traveling to London, Amsterdam or Guatemala, look them up!
Gratefully, our pre-clinic itinerary included a couple of planned breakfasts, dinners and a walking tour of Antigua which allowed our group to become more acquainted with each other and the local culture. We were a mixed group; (4) Dentists, (2) Dental Assistants, (2) Hygienists, (2) Students and (5) General Volunteers; roughly half of the team worked with Global Dental Relief during a previous clinic.
The architecture is stunning; Colonial Spanish influences are very recognizable in the Gothic and Baroque details still present today. The 8-square blocks of the old city are defined by remains of many Catholic churches mostly abandoned or repurposed following one of many natural disasters. In fact, most Antiguan buildings are not more than 2 stories high due to the threat of earthquakes, which caused the Guatemalan government to move the capital in the late 1700’s. The city center has been rebuilt a number of times over the last 500 years and the continued preservation underway is truly remarkable.
After our walking tour on Saturday, we hiked up Cerro de la Cruz on the northern edge of the city. The trail was fairly challenging but from the top, we could see panoramic views of Antigua’s terracotta rooftops and the nearby volcanoes. We had the remainder of the afternoon on our own and then met up for clinic assignments and a walk to dinner at Aqua, ironically, during a huge rainstorm. The restaurant was partially outdoors so, although a little damp, the experience was truly memorable.
Getting from place to place was an adventure! When moving as a large group, we typically walked 1 or 2-wide, as the uneven sidewalks allowed. Nearly every home has Juliet windows with ironwork and planting boxes jutting out into the sidewalk, forcing us to watch not only where we put our feet, but also our heads!
Then, early Sunday morning, we began our journey north towards San Martín Jilotepeque. While traveling the narrow, winding roads up the mountain, we learned our arrival fell on the busiest day of the week – thousands would be in town for worship and market day. Because of this, our shuttles were forced to travel a round-about-way to our destination; mostly off-roading, while dodging children, chickens and cows. Once safely to our lodging, we dropped the bags at Hotel La Pasadita and continued on to the clinic.
Hopping off of the bus was like being transported to another world. Walking a short distance to the clinic’s entrance felt like navigating a beehive; people, livestock, food and wares formed row after row of vendor stalls filling the Plaza in front of La Iglesia Católica. There, in a small break between the booths, we went up a few steps onto a wide porch where families stood, awaiting our arrival. We quickly grabbed our clipboards and met, for no more than 15 minutes, to learn our roles. And then….the hard work began.
I was an assistant to Aurora, the 25 year old Hygienist from Atlanta whom I initially met at the airport. Like me, this was her first time volunteering with GDR and although she was grateful for any help in such an unusual environment, she was not used to being “the boss”.
And being a novice, it took me a bit to get the rhythm of what she needed and how I could help her the most; suction and gauze being crucial. However, there were other things: keeping the cleaning trays well stocked, understanding which types of scalers she preferred, pre-stretching gloves which always seemed to break when we didn’t, monitoring fresh and waste water levels, keeping records of what we did for each patient and sanitizing in between.
But that first day was tough, both of us trying to understand how to use the basic tools offered and the pace needed to get the job done. I couldn’t keep track of my pen, was clumsy with the suction, took far too long to clean and prep the station before the next child arrived. And I constantly bumped anything available. Thankfully, I became much better at anticipating her needs by the end of that day.
There were so many patients, we were exhausted and one day ran into the next. A few of our patients stood out for various reasons but overall, we saw kids who were terrified, relaxed or tearful, some sang, some danced and cracked jokes. Most were dirty from the floor of their homes or their walk to the clinic. We saw a couple of dozen kids with prematurely grey hair and nails bitten to the nub caused by the stress of their daily existence. Many however, were very grateful and held our hands or openly hugged us.
On Monday, a tiny child came in with very swollen gums and a full mouth of rotting baby teeth. Regardless of what his mother told us at intake, he proudly let us know he was only 4 years old and therefore, too young to be treated with much more than a light cleaning and a lesson in toothbrushing. Pulling his teeth would have negatively impacted his future development but it was heartbreaking to not do more for him when his mother tried so hard to get him help.
A beautiful 12 year old girl was in our chair on Tuesday, complaining of intermittent pain on her upper right side. When we got to work, we saw she had 2 large abscesses, top right and bottom left. And as Aurora scaled, this little girl’s teeth began to disappear. Thankfully, eyewear and a face covering hid my horror while fishing bits of tooth out of her mouth. In a very even tone, Aurora explained to me why her enamel was crumbling and we both hoped one of the Dentists would be able to rebuild some of the decay.
Unfortunately, there was not a lot of pain relief to go around; therefore, much of the work caused a lot of discomfort for our patients. Wednesday the dentists had to pull 5 permanent teeth out of a 9 year old girl. Shocking, but necessary for her to have any chance at continued health of her remaining teeth. She took it and the simple Motrin offered to her afterwards like a champ!
Others had some incredible repair work done; strategic teeth pulled to help with overcrowding, holes filled in to re-create chewing surfaces, huge craters with exposed pulp were patched up to look like perfect teeth! True artistry.
We ate 3 meals/day at the Full Moon Cafe, owned and operated by Cristy Velasco, a woman who helps to coordinate the 2 Guatemalan clinics run by Global Dental Relief. She and her family planned, prepped and cooked our breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.
After a typical breakfast on Thursday of fruits, rice, eggs and tortillas, we had a tour of San Martín. So, up we climbed into the back of pickup trucks and rode through town, waving to locals, taking pictures of the scenic views and celebrating our time together.
She also taught us how to make tortillas at lunch and in doing so, shared a bit about her life. In addition to facilitating the treatment of local and village children at the GDR clinics, she donates and/or sells discounted meals to her neighbors. Then she collects food scraps to care for the abandoned dogs running rampant in San Martín. Many of the healthier pups she feeds chose to chaperone us as we followed our daily routine; hotel, meal, clinic, meal, clinic, hotel, meal, hotel. Cristy is a true leader within her community.
Our last night in San Martín, Christy and her family hosted us one last time with special guests in attendance. During this meal, thank you gifts were handed out to the volunteers, including a special recognition from the Mayor’s wife.
In the morning, after a final cold shower, we returned to our dental chairs until lunch time when we broke camp, cleaning and packing everything up to be stored until it would be used again during Spring Clinics. The process was well rehearsed and happened in no time!
And then we were off; on our way back down to Antigua where 5-star accommodations awaited us at the Hotel Camino Real. Once we checked in, I took the longest, hottest shower I could stand, scrubbed my feet for the first time in a week and vowed to never take heated water for granted again.
Then a quick hour-long salsa dancing lesson before dining al fresco. Several of the volunteers were ecstatic to see a gourmet burger on the menu; others ate seafood or other well-crafted dishes. While at dinner we confirmed our choices of excursion the following day; I chose to zipline rather than climbing Pacaya on horseback. Such an adventure! However, I should have chosen the volcano…but that’s a story for another day…
It’s taken me a long time to put my experience into words because I know I’m not doing the people or the place justice. Part of me wishes I was still there, comforting one of Guatemala’s children. All of me longs to go back. If you have the opportunity to visit this truly magical place or volunteer with Global Dental Relief, please go. Please do. I’m certain you will come back feeling just as changed as I have been.
Thank you, GDR. Thank you, John. Thank you, Arhaus.
Most sincerely yours,
Karen Coleman