Notes From the Field: Making Smiles Bright in Panama-LuminAID

Notes From the Field: Making Smiles Bright in Panama

Working out of a building with a thatched roof and dirt floors, our humanitarian partner, Mission Save a Smile, is able to provide dental care to the indigenous Guna people of Panama by the light of LuminAID solar lanterns.

Read the latest from our Notes From the Field series, in which we hear stories of distribution from our humanitarian partners. 

Many communities around the world lack access to quality dental care. Poor oral health can lead to countless other problems, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and loss of sleep—which can keep children out of school.

Mission Save a Smile LuminAID
Our partner, Mission Save a Smile, has been providing quality dental care to the indigenous Guna tribe in Panama for twelve years. They also inform and educate community members to prevent further health problems.


Laura Zalnis, a volunteer with Mission Save a Smile, traveled with a group of volunteer dentists and dental students to provide oral health services for the Guna people. While there, the group works out of a building with a dirt floor and thatched roof. In order to power their drills, sterilizing machines, and suction machines, the dentists must run electrical cords from generators.

Zalanis says of her trip, “We work well past sunset, because our days are limited and we want to treat as many children as we can. The LuminAID solar lanterns are remarkable and provide a lot of light for us when the sun starts to set. I don’t know what we would do without them!”

LuminAID is proud to partner with Mission Save a Smile in the critical work they are doing!

 

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