On Tues, April 8, our next destination was Capul Island which we reached by "ferry"...a really cool traditional out rigger canoe. They took our entire group and all of our equipment safely across the ocean for an hour from the mainland.
On our arrival they took us and our equipment quickly off the boat. The Island is beautiful with crystal clear water!
They greeted us with costumes and a marching band...we felt so honoured, what a reception! They were truly so happy that we had come, they have never had a dental mission come to their little Island of just over 12,000.
They had blocked off the Main Street of town and covered the area with tarps.
We set up our work stations and equipment, again using every available desk, bench, table or chair. It's so fun setting up as a team, we were getting good at it now.
They were ready for us to start, and so were we!
They had a great group of nurses from their medical centre to help organize the patients...
and had them arranged to be sitting according to what they needed...fillings, cleanings or extractions! The chairs were even numbered, they were so organized, and the people were so cooperative!
These are filling patients and instruments.
Luckily, we had access to a generator so we had power for the equipment.
And here is Dad hard at work, he loves serving these people.
Our team worked for two days here and saw over 400 patients...about 600 extractions, over 300 fillings and close to 60 cleanings. On Dad's last patient he took out 15 teeth! So much decay here and need for more work, we really need to come back here!
Our team of 24 had different accommodations on the Island, the unmarried stayed at a resort about a 15 min drive away,
...and the only way to travel was by motorcycle.
This is a view of a portion of the town from the roof of the municipal building right next to where we were working. Houses built right next to the ocean, and so close together.
They sell gas in litre bottles in different grades...so funny to see no gas stations only little stores like this selling gas.
Doug and I and two other married couples stayed in town and were accommodated in the 400 year old church. It was a truly amazing experience! Our room was so old, it had 25 foot ceilings and stone walls...and rats!! Quite a memorable experience, with roosters waking us at 5:00 AM. Never could we ever pay enough money to have such cool accommodations!
Everyday we were greeted by the cutest kids, so happy and so curious about us strange looking white people. They were very shy and rarely wanted their picture taken, but she was an exception and knew just how to smile for us
Our team had fun serving the people of Capul.
They were so grateful and generous to us, we had to be careful what we asked for because we got it, even at great sacrifice to them.
Being with them has taught us a lot about humility and gratitude, that is one of the greatest gifts, learning from and loving the people!! We will be back!! Our team headed back to the mainland after this dental mission, but Doug and I stayed several more days on Capul...but that's another blog...soon!
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Very Cool pics! Looks like a wonderful trip!
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