After a week, the actual work could finally begin. As Ursina couldn’t manage the work alone, a few NAGers volunteered as “assistants”. They were able to learn a lot during their time with Ursina! But first, let’s talk about the actual content of the project. Ursina’s actual goal is for all children and employees at NAG to have less tooth decay. This can only be achieved through regular oral hygiene prophylaxis. Here in Switzerland, we have known this for a long time and it is an integral part of school lessons. First of all, the examinations took place at NAG. All pupils and staff were examined by Ursina and given a dental booklet. This records what is not good and should be improved.

The children were all given a tablet in each class. This tablet colors the impurities blue and so the kids can see for themselves how their oral hygiene is. Unfortunately, it looked very dark blue in many mouths. However, this also helps to impress upon the children the importance of brushing their teeth regularly. After all, they all have toothbrushes at NAG!

After the check-ups, Ursina continued with the teeth cleaning. During her stay, all children from kindergarten to grade 7 had their teeth cleaned. Even some bad cases and employees were brave enough to have their teeth cleaned. Ursina would like to travel to NAG once a year for the next five years to educate the children and especially the staff that oral hygiene prophylaxis is extremely important for our health. This also includes the fact that the consumption of sweets and sweet drinks without regular tooth brushing is very harmful for us.

She also noted that a few children and adolescents needed further dental treatment. It’s not about the fact that they will get more beautiful teeth. No, it’s more about the fact that some of these children are restricted in their everyday lives. For example, they cannot chew properly because the teeth of the upper and lower jaws do not close together properly or they have difficulty speaking. We hope that we will be able to provide these children with treatment in Nepal in the future.

Now back to Ursina’s assistants. They were a great help for Ursina and one or the other was able to gain experience in a professional field that was previously quite unknown. It is also possible to train as a dental hygienist or study dentistry in Nepal. Some of the young NAGers can now well imagine doing this, which makes us very happy. It will still take some time before this happens and it is clear that studying will cost a lot of money. One boy has now registered for the entrance exams and we will see what happens next. The cost of studying will be around CHF 20,000, so we will certainly be glad to have donors who will donate money specifically for dental studies.

Ursina, thank you for your commitment and your time! If you, dear donors, would like to know more about the project, please contact us. It is still in its “baby shoes”, but our aim is to continue the project.