A cracked tooth can ruin your life
Health Matters. When you are poor and cannot afford to fix a cracked tooth, it just gets worse and worse until it’s infected and can cause serious disease and even death in a poor country.
We recently discovered that Neema had a cracked front tooth. She’s been working very hard on her schooling and following through with work on her soccer (football).
Her typical day is up at 5 AM getting ready and preparing for her school day. Getting in an early morning working out. Yoga, running and practicing soccer drills. She loves soccer. She wants to be part of the Tanzanian women’s soccer league someday.
Neema works hard.
She was a bit scared, and cried, going to the dentist
Knowing how to go to the doctors, advocate for yourself, is an important life skill. When our kids have to go to the doctor, we use it as a learning lesson. We teach them how to check on their care, research any medication’s before taking them. We teach them to interact and work with the medical staff to make sure they get the best care. This may sound simple to you. They are not simple to an impoverished family or child.
In the case of Neema’s tooth, the family would have been unable to bring her to a dentist. It would simply be beyond their means. They can not afford the simplest of medical care.
It would’ve meant missed school. It would’ve meant that she could not have followed through on all the work she put in for her soccer.
Someday Neema hopes to be a civil rights lawyer. Helping her develop passion, learning how to take care of her health is an important part of the journey.
Untreated dental problems
Thanks for our generous sponsors, Neema will be able to continue on her path despite a minor broken tooth along the way. Without you, that minor tooth problem could have developed into a serious lifelong and possibly a life-threatening issue.
