In October 2013, Dr. Jeremy Tu, a dentist from Design Dental in North Liberty, Iowa helped begin the medical/dental and soul care ministry in the villages of Luly and Williamson, Haiti through World Wide Village. The dental ministry was primarily aimed to remove immediate dental pain from the villagers of Luly and Williamson, as well as providing dental education to the school children in those villages.
According to Dr. Tu, “The main challenge to providing dental care in Haiti is the lack of proper facilities. There is no electrical power, no compressed air to provide air pressure to run dental hand pieces. No suction to remove fluid from patient’s mouths. No dental chair or overhead light to achieve proper patient position or even visibility. But all these problems are beginning to be resolved thanks to the newly constructed medical center at City on a Hill.”
Pictured: Dr. Jeremy Tu
“Soon a dental space will be set up in the medical center, equipped to provide proper dental care. Praise God for the fundraising efforts put out by the Run Luly 5K and other individuals. Praise God also for many dentists here in Iowa who are willing to donate materials and equipment to World Wide Village. Please pray continuously for this ministry to grow and mature. Pray for the safe transportation of the necessary material and equipment. Pray for more dentists to come to Haiti to provide dental care. Ultimately, we want to come alongside and collaborate with local dentists so when we are not there, the dental ministry could continue.”
Dr. Greg Gilbaugh from The Family Dental Center in Coralville, Iowa has also continued the World Wide Village dental care ministry. Hundreds of toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste have been distributed to the school children, as well as fluoride treatments and dental education provided in the schools. We are so thankful for the time given by these dentists, as well as a number of dental assistants who have come to Haiti to serve with World Wide Village.
Pictured: Dr. Greg Gilbaugh
Just in case you think dental missions in Haiti is glamorous, think again! These dentists have definitely sacrificed to demonstrate the gospel to the Haitian people. Dr. Tu’s first trip to Haiti was physically exhausting as he knelt on the hard ground beside a lawn chair pulling teeth for hours each day… while chickens ran around his feet! Dr. Gilbaugh has pulled stubborn teeth with deep roots until his hand could no longer grip a tool. We are thankful that these men and others have used the skills and knowledge that God has blessed them with, as well as generously given toward the completion of the WWV medical center. I know the patients in the WWV dental clinics are also immensely grateful as they often live for months with severe tooth pain until they are finally able to have the infected tooth pulled. Each dental patient has an opportunity to hear the gospel and respond – dental care and soul care combined.
Please continue to be in prayer for this ministry. If you are a dentist, dental hygienist or have resources for collecting dental supplies, we welcome you to join us in this mission! Please contact Matt Anderson, WWV Medical Director, for more information at mcanderson@live.com or call World Wide Village at 651-777-6908.