Cobras scouts and scouts in training, or "recruits", joined the Smile and See program to help set up marquees, manage logistics, control crowds, support patients...and further spread conservation awareness!
Our annual Smile and See program, in partnership with Smile is a Foundation and the D3 Foundation, and several other partners, was another resounding success with over 5,200 patients treated, including 1,877 dental patients receiving almost 3,000 treatments (fillings, root canal treatments or extractions) and 334 children receiving fluoride.
The program also celebrated its 40,000th patient since it started in 2011: a young boy called Lundi Sibanda who broke his right front tooth several months previously; it became infected and was causing great pain and difficulty eating. One root canal surgery expert first cleared out rotten matter and infected nerves from the broken tooth. Then another dentist stepped in to build Lundi a new front tooth so he could be proud of his smile again...and what a smile it was! Read more about this story here
Over 1,750 prescription glasses and 2,500 sunglasses were distributed during the Smile and See program to patients. Over 300 people were identified as being legible for cataract surgeries as part of our follow up cataracts program. From children being given glasses to help them read school blackboards, to older patients being given reading glasses for them to finally be able to read after several years…a life-changing moment for so many people! The Smile and See program also fed over 5,500 people with hot meals and brought festive cheer with sandwiches and toys for children, as well as distributions of toothbrushes, toothpaste, christmas crackers and sunglasses.
Thank you to all that contributed - it was a real team effort, even our Cobras scouts got stuck in and were instrumental in ensuring everything ran as smoothly as possible.
For more information about the Community Rhino Conservation Initiative, contact us here