Currie left for San Jose Obrero, a city 45 minutes from Peru’s capital city, on June 12. She is with five other dental hygiene students, graduates and instructors volunteering through Developing World Connections, a Canadian grassroots, non-profit organization whose mission is to make a positive difference in the world.
“The aspect of this trip that I am most excited about is making a difference in other people’s lives, even if it’s only a small one,” wrote Currie on her personal website.
“We will work in a community centre and see as many as 800 children and adults of all ages,” said Heather Mohr, CNC’s dental hygiene instructor, who organized the trip. “We’ll provide restorative and preventive treatment, extractions, dental hygiene, as well as educational workshops.”
As well as dental equipment, the group packed face paint, balloons and crafts for the children of San Jose Obrero. They also took 800 toothbrushes to give out to their patients.
Two members of the group will return to Prince George June 26 in order to write their national licensing exams. The remainder of the group, including Currie, will stay in Lima for another week and will then travel around South America for two more weeks.
Planning for the outreach trip began in September 2012. Each student raised $4,000 toward their travel cost. For the trip, Currie received a $1,000 Pacific Horizons Scholarship from the Irving K. Barber Society.
