Hucknall dentist travels to Africa to treat suffering patients

Monica Zendera was part of a team of four who travelled to the troubled country to provide oral health education and emergency dentistry for people who have no other access to dental care.

The team worked in schools, hospitals, orphanages, remote villages and even a storeroom, treating hundreds of patients and teaching people how to look after their teeth.

They experienced Zimbabwe’s natural beauty and friendly hospitality while seeing the effects the country’s instability has had on its residents and healthcare services.

“Due to the financial difficulties in Zimbabwe, there are people who have no access to healthcare as they can’t afford to pay the fees and in the most remote areas services are not even available,” said Monica, who works in Nottingham and was born and brought up in Zimbabwe.

“The majority of the people we treated had never seen a dentist and were living in pain.”

This is the second time that Dentaid has run a volunteering trip to Zimbabwe- the volunteers raised £2,100 each for their trip,