DaAi Headlines 20101001 Trainee dental assistant program

Staying in the Philippines, the local Tzu Chi runs a scholarship program, for poor students in the Marikina area of Manila, but what about the young people who have dropped out of school and cannot continue with their studies? Well, the foundation has a dental assistant apprenticeship program. School dropouts can learn the trade, guided by TIMA dentists at Tzu Chi's free medical clinics. The program is a win-win scenario for the students, the volunteers, and the patients.


( New dentures take the biscuit )
Nothing beats a crispy cracker, especially if you have new teeth.

Patient:" It's good. I can taste the cracker. Before, I had to soak them to make them soft."

It costs between 20-30,000 Filipino pesos to get dentures. Many residents cannot even afford the 300 pesos to pull a tooth, but at the Tzu Chi clinic, dentures are free.

TIMA dentists train school dropouts:" Dr. Zhang Lizhen(張麗真), who runs her own clinic, volunteers for Tzu Chi three times a week. Now she has the extra responsibility of teaching trainee assistants."

TIMA dentist, Dr. Zhang Lizhen:" I don't have enough energy to get through the day. It's very very hard. But, on the one hand, it helps these young people, and on the other, its helps our dentists. Seeing them improve day by day is very satisfying."

This apprentice dental assistant course is for students from Marikina, in Metro Manila, who dropped out of school, and cannot complete their education. Here, they are learning a skill.

( Program gives Christina new hope )

Watching, listening, and taking careful notes, trainee Christina says she is encouraged by something her late father once said.

Apprentice, Christina:" When he was alive, my father told me if I learn how to make dentures, it will be a great help to me."

Two months ago, when her father died of an illness, Christina was devastated. Previously a sophomore college student, Christina spent the tuition her father gave her, on clothes and parties. Now she has no money to go back to school.

However, the dental assistant class helped Christina turn over a new leaf.

Apprentice, Christina:" I've taken part in the Dreamland tutorial program. I also want to do what Tzu Chi is doing, like distributing aid, because helping people feels very good."

Tzu Chi volunteer, Su Meizhen :" If they can find a job, it will be one less problem for society. This course is very meaningful. It can make Tzu Chi a bridge. When they first come, they have a lot of questions, but slowly, their bright smiles appear."

( Happy students, volunteers, patients )

Drilled in Tzu Chi's culture, the trainee assistants are not the only ones who are smiling - the volunteers and the patients are looking happier too.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

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