Last week Rich took some photos of Gemina the dentist and her patients to send to Lilian Ranseen, who is doing a toothbrush-collecting project with Veterans Park elementary school. Part of Jemina's work is being supported by Jubileo. In examining the students at four schools in the Hombro clinic service area, staff have found a terribly high level of dental caries and/or need for extractions (more than 65%). Jemina spent six years living in Israel; that's where she met her Ecuadorean husband Jaime! She is very devoted to her patients and her work, and looking forward to implementing a prophylactic program using dental sealants which are being purchased by Jubileo and Hombro jointly.**********************
Rich has spoken at lots of pediatrics conferences, but on January 30th, his two talks at Voz Andes hospital in Quito represented a big first: he gave both "charlas" in Spanish!! In retrospect, maybe this challenge was a bit premature for the level of fluency he has attained, but he took it on, and due to intense effort, he did himself proud. He basically read the papers, which he had written first in English, then translated, then corrected with the input of several native speakers, then rehearsed many times. His preparation paid off in a polished performance. The only sign that he wasn't totally at ease was the amount of movement in the laser pointer; rather than hitting a particular point on the projected image, it would just sort of wander around the intended area. (I don't know if anybody but me knew that the instability was due to trembling!) He fielded questions from the audience well enough that he received the ultimate compliment from a participant who approached him afterward to discuss something - the person thought Rich was a doctor from Brazil!! (i.e., not a gringo).
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