Volunteering that Makes Us Smile
It is said that taking care of teeth from your childhood is very important. A recent study shows that taking proper care of teeth prevents the heart disease. The basic is to brush teeth in a proper way and scale teeth on a regular basis. But there are many people who cannot afford it. A charity group has been doing a service for those since long ago.
The joy in Volunteer Work
< Annual meeting for better volunteering> (Source: Yollin Dental Society)
Yollin Dental Society was established in 1999 to volunteer for poor neighbors. It is blowing a fresh breeze into many dentist groups in Korea. The targets are those who abandoned, seniors who live alone, and Korean-Chinese. Well, the Yollin Dental Society is busy enough to go to different places everyday that needs their help.
Then, how do they volunteer? Once the dentist license holder becomes a member of Yollin Dental Society, he gets a volunteer-schedule on a regular basis. Considering his/her schedule, the next step is to apply in advance. It is also good for building friendship among volunteers.
Kim Seong Moon, the newly elected president of Yollin Dental Society, said that the progress of the volunteer group cannot be made by just one or two persons’ efforts. He emphasized that passion and devotion from each person are the keys to achieve the progress and strengthen the friendship among members.
To Abroad!
Yeolin dentist group went abroad for a volunteer work for the first time this year. Kim prepared for international volunteer with passion. The original plan was to set up clinics abroad in order to provide Korean medical services for people in developing countries. They are planning another overseas volunteering project on a regular basis in the near future.
The first destination was Indonesia. As it is a first international project, they already conducted a field trip, and did a lot of research. Finally, 25 dentists flew to Indonesia for a volunteer work from 29th of July to the 3rd of August. They treated factory workers and neighbors at factory of Dada Korea in Laya 76 km away from Jakarta. 309 patients were treated through the volunteer work.
Arrived very late, the dentist group set up the equipments until dawn and started to treat patients from the next morning. The situation was not so good. Mostly, they extracted and scaled teeth for local people, which continued for six days. In addition, they did a skin care and nail care for female workers and opened flee market with Korean items they brought from Korea. Of course, it was very popular.
The president of the group said,
“More than 700 people wanted to be treated but only 300 people had opportunities due to the schedule. But I’m very glad to get things done without any accident.”
Yollin Dental Society marked 11th anniversary. Two hundred volunteers have treated seven thousand people so far. They have grown up as one of the most famous volunteer groups with six clinics in Korea.
Dental care is very important but it costs a lot of money. Until now, dental care was not affordable to low income class. However, we have Yollin Dental Society, and it seems that they will be the strong supporters.
Comments