Three major RAWCS projects achieved in one year

 
 
The Rotary Club of Ballarat West, in conjunction with RAWCS and a number of other Rotary Clubs in District 9780 has continued to develop dental initiatives for our neighbouring Pacific Island neighbours
This year three major dental initiatives have been concluded, driven and executed by member dentist Dr David Goldsmith PHF. The Tongan program was begun in 1996, and has been followed up with annual supporting visits since.
 
A major dental audit of 7 year old children, over15 years has been completed to confirm major progress in management of dental disease in Tonga.
 
Two dental vans (in addition to the van used in the audit in Tonga) have been delivered to Vanuatu and to Fiji this year. Both vans have been fully refurbished, and were packed to the hilt with other dental equipment for the respective communities.
 
 
 
Tongan Program  
 
The 17th visit of a team from the club has finalised a study into Tooth Decay in Tongan schoolchildren which began in 1998.  Seven primary schools on Tongatapu involving children aged 6 and 12 years old were targeted covering geographically and socio-economically separate areas of the main island of Tongatapu. A total of 708 children were examined and the same schools were used as in previous studies for consistency.  
 This study is to World Health Organisation (WHO) Oral Health Survey criteria so the results are directly comparable with similar surveys throughout the world.
 
The W.H.O. reports that there is a current shortage of recent accurate data on caries trends in the Pacific Islands and most other developing countries and is encouraging more studies to be done, so the timing is ideal, and is exceptional in maintaining the same examining team over such a long period of time.
 
It is of further importance because at the beginning of the study there was no preventative dentistry being conducted in these schools and by the end of the study tooth brushing and fluoride mouth rinses were being universally implemented in Tonga. A fully equipped dental van was donated to the Vaiola hospital in 2003 as part of this long on-going project.  
RAWCS project number144/2005 – August 24th.  to September 6th. 2013
 
Fiji Program
With the Rotary club of Suva Peninsula Sunset the club has donated this year a fully equipped mobile dental caravan to the Fiji National University Department of Oral Health. This Faculty trains the majority of dental professionals working in the Pacific Islands including Dental Therapists, Dental Hygienists and Dental Prosthetists as well as dentists.   
 
 The Caravan is fully air-conditioned, has a built in compressor, central suction system, X-ray unit, strip lighting, waiting room, fully lockable cabinetry, refrigerator, autoclaves, 3 sinks, 3 doors with retractable steps and handrails, and a portable field unit with compressor for use on remote islands in Fiji. The unit has been converted to work on to single phase power.
 The University Oral Health department estimated the value of the dental caravan and its contents in this RAWCS project to be $350,000. The donation was welcomed by the University and the Fijian Ministry of Health at a special Presentation Ceremony with food and dancing performed by dental students from several Pacific Island nations. Rotary was represented at the Handover by Dr David Goldsmith from RC Ballarat West and RC Geelong Rotarian Ron Smith.
The ceremony also launched the Bachelor of Oral Health degree course which will train Dental Therapists and Hygienists to Dental degree standard. This mobile dental clinic will be used for part
 of their training as well as to provide patients with a much needed free dental service in the more remote regions of Viti Levu.
 
Vanuatu Program
The Rotary Club of Ballarat West has set up a professional and free dental service for disadvantaged Ni-Vanuatuan people in Vanuatu.

A RAWCS volunteer dental team (again with leader Dr David Goldsmith PHF and including non-Rotarian dental engineer Peter Copp PHF) has just returned from a two week visit to Port Vila to set up the project.
 
Central to the project was the donation of a fully equipped dental van purchased from Dental Services Victoria. D9780 was assisted by several clubs in D9910 and in particular by the new Grassroots club of Vanuatu.
 
We are now looking for dental volunteers to support this project in the future – Vanuatu is an ideal adventure holiday spot where you would be helping happy, friendly people who have no access to dental care