Nepalese student realizing a dream

By Rick Dandes
The Daily Item

October 07, 2008 09:28 am

— LEWISBURG — Thanks to a $3,000 sponsorship provided by the Central Susquehanna Dental Society, a student from Nepal will be living out his dream to be a dental hygienist, serving the people of his own village, who have never had anyone available to care for their teeth.
“We first heard about the student, ChitraBahadur Pun, three years ago,” said John Lazur, a dentist from Shamokin Dam. “We were approached by Dr. Debra Stoner, who is from Northumberland. She knew of someone in Nepal who was interested in a career in health care. He was a good student, she said, and he wanted to attend an oral hygiene school. His goal was to eventually go home to help his village.”
Stoner came to the Society and asked if they would support this person financially. They agreed to do it.
The Society paid Pun’s way through dental school, $1,000 a year for three consecutive years. The last of those $1,000 checks was presented to Stoner two weeks ago at a meeting of the Society at the Temperance House in Lewisburg. Pun graduates this month.
Stoner updated members of the Society by explaining that Pun would graduate as a dental hygeinist.
“He attended a three-year program,” she explained. “In that program, he has learned the basics of removing small cavities, pulling teeth and how to treat gum infections. The most important thing he has learned is preventive dentistry. Now, he can go back to his village and the surrounding area and start educating people, beginning with the school children. He’ll teach them preventative dental care.”
He will also offer dental care in the small medical clinic in the village. “We have a very basic drill set up and he’s able to fill cavities, treat infections, pull teeth,” Stoner said.
The village, Nangi, is extremely remote, 10 miles from the nearest road. It takes a full day to get there by bus, and another day to walk into.
“For that reason, Pun learned to be self-sufficient,” Stoner said. In the same way, her group, the Himanchal Educational Foundation, is helping the village develop some self-sustaining cottage industries. “We helped them develop a paper making factory,” Stoner said. “Villagers are now selling the paper and making money, which eventually makes its way back to the school, supporting it. We have sent our health care workers to Kathmandu for continuing medical education and we have also supported that with funds.”
The new dental clinic is targeted to start operation in the spring of 2009.
To make a donation to help renovate the dental clinic, said Stoner, go to the web site www.himanchal.org and there will be a category that says “donate.”
Click on that and you can donate to a particular organization. Donors can target where their funds go to.
The group is trying to raise $4,000 to $5,000.
The Himanchal Education Foundation has 501 (c) (3) charitable status in the U.S. and all contributions are fully tax deductable.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.