Bridge2Aid
Charity Partner
Information
Our mission is to provide access to simple, safe, emergency dental treatment to all.
Bridge2Aid has developed a model that provides training for local health workers. The training is carried out by volunteer dentists, nurses, hygienists and therapists from the UK and other parts of the world. For over a decade Bridge2Aid has demonstrated success in both Tanzania and Rwanda, making access to life-changing treatment available to more than 4 million people.
Sustainability is at the heart of what we do. To us sustainability means putting the knowledge and the power to change their lives into the hands of the people who we are seeking to help. We want to be a catalyst for change, to set change in motion, but we don’t want to disempower the people in whose communities we are working. We are after all (well intentioned) guests in their country.
In developing our programmes we are meticulous in looking at the existing healthcare networks and structures, as well as cultural mores. We want to ensure that the training we deliver is appropriate to the situation. Crucially when our volunteers leave an area the skills they have taught mean the work can be carried on, with the tools that we can leave with those we have trained. This is why our model comprises of teaching primarily extractions using hand instruments. The health workers we train are usually in remote rural areas with little or no electricity or running water. When our team leave we leave behind competent health workers now trained in emergency dental care who are able to get people out of pain and prevent dangerous infections. We’re leaving a long term legacy of ongoing pain relief