The Dental Volunteer Project in Manchay aims to call on the generosity of  dentists to provide low cost specialized professional services (oral rehabilitation, paediatric dentistry, orthodontics, periodontal, etc.) according to modern standards on a daily basis to persons with scarce means.

How can it be done?
The aim is to find enough dentists who would commit to offer their services voluntarily every two weeks (or more frequently if desired) so that a permanent specialized dental service could be offered to the needy populace of Manchay.
When will the project start?
The project will begin on 6th October 2011 by which time it is hoped  that sufficient offers of help have been received and coordinated to be able to provide a regular service.
Where will we offer the dental service?
In the clinic of Carlos Heedren in Manchay that has a dental office (plus car parking).


Who is organizing the volunteers?
The ODONTORURAL Association in coordination with the Holy Spirit Parish of Manchay.
Program Coordinator: C.D. Luis Enrique Cam
Email: luiscam@gmail.com
Could I help in other ways?
Yes, the dental clinic has a scarcity of instruments and dental materials. You may wish to make donations of such materials. We also hope to equip two additional dental offices to serve more people, which would require two dental units, a sterilizing machine, compressors, dental laboratory equipment and a RX machine.

A Brief history of Manchay.
Manchay is a poor community of 70 thousand people situated to the east of Lima, composed mostly of refugees fleeing from terrorism, immigrants from the Andean regions like Apurimac, Huancavelica and Ayacucho. The settlement began its history in the mid 80’s when many escaping from rural poverty sought a better future in the outskirts of the capital. In recent years some areas have benefited from being connected to water and sewage, however many zones still lack basic services.


Carlos Heedren Polyclinic
The clinic, which is run by the Sisters of St. Camillus, has a dental office and also two empty offices that could be used as part of the dental area.

The clinic provides care to people at very low prices: 4 Soles (local currency) for consultations. However, the dental area is underutilized because of the erratic availability of dental personnel and the fact that poorer people view dental services as a luxury they cannot afford. As a consequence people only come when they are in great pain when their condition is quite advance and so often a tooth extraction is required that becomes a horrific experience that they try to avoid in the future.