A Dental Clinic for Hope House!
One of the joys of serving in El Salvador has been seeing dear friends of ours come and take part in the ministry that God has given us here. Recently, Keri Hoffman, a long-time friend of ours from Washington, came to serve alongside Hope for Families by offering her talents as a dental hygienist. Keri has been a hygienist for many years and loves her work. She recently retired, but, when she and her husband Mike, came for a visit a few years ago, she began to fall in love with all of our young women in Hope House, and a seed was planted in her heart for service here in El Salvador.
I have pestered Keri for years about coming down to do a dental clinic for our gals. But, it was after spending personal, one-on-one time with our precious young women, that Keri, herself began to see the ways she could use her gifts to bless them. After that, nothing could stop her from coming to serve them! This trip, Keri came with her lovely daughter, Aubrey, who interned with Hope for Families back in 2013 in our infancy! It was wonderful to have her back again! She is now married and living up yonder in the beautiful state of Alaska with her beloved.
Keri worked hard to prepare a wonderful and meaningful time for our gals. She asked for help from a local dentist she had worked with, and she also contacted Crest; both donated some awesome dental hygiene workbooks, (in Spanish) and dental kits for children. She was able to bring enough supplies to put on a great workshop for our gals in the home, as well as to do a presentation for two of our girls clubs. She planned fun crafts, a biblical lesson about stewardship of our physical bodies, and activities and snacks to go along with the dental information. This basic information was new to them and will serve them well. Keri made it wonderfully memorable and fun experience for all!
In addition to the presentations that she did, she actually cleaned the teeth of all the girls in the home, and told them what kind of dental work each of them needed in the future. She found many cavities and a LOT of tartar build up, since most of the gals had never been to a dentist. Keri helped us to begin to gauge how we could invest in the dental health of our young women. It is an area that we have never really tackled. We know we can’t do everything for our gals, but, dental work in El Salvador is so cheap so that we have decided to start small and do what we can to help them bring their teeth to good health. To fill a cavity, it costs about $30.00. A cleaning costs between $15-$30. Root canals and crowns cost between $100-$200. We know that bad dental health can impact their whole bodies. If you would like to donate specifically towards the dental health of the women and girls in our home, please go to our website and follow the link to donate. Indicate that you would like your donation to go towards “dental health” and we will put it to good use immediately!
If you have a gift/talent/passion that you would like to share with the gals of our Hope House ministry, and/or our girls clubs, please contact Kathy at kathporter5@gmail.com. Let’s begin a conversation about the possibility of YOU coming down to El Salvador to serve with Hope for Families! It’s easy, fun and above all else, it’s a blessing to be able to invest in the lives of these precious girls and young women!
