The William & Mary Educational The William & Mary Educational

Review Review

Volume 2 Issue 1 Article 10

12-1-2013

Mobile Education in Cambodia Mobile Education in Cambodia

Cameron R. Nelson The College of William & Mary

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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Nelson, Cameron R. (2013) "Mobile Education in Cambodia," The William & Mary Educational Review: Vol. 2 : Iss. 1 , Article 10. Available at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/wmer/vol2/iss1/10

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A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity tospend several unforgettable days volunteering at amobile dental education clinic that visited remotevillages in the Cambodian jungles and taughtchildren about proper dental hygiene. My timewith the dentists was spent serving the villages nearthe small city of Siem Riep in north-centralCambodia. Despite the city’s proximity to themost popular tourist destination in Cambodia –Angkor Wat – this area was one of the poorest inthe country.I was in the middle of a one year around the

world backpacking trip and was there as avolunteer with my friend Tessa from England tohelp volunteer dentists wherever they needed us.Tessa loved this kind of in-your-face getting toknow the locals sort of volunteer work. The yearbefore, she had distributed Christian pamphletsand videos in Tibet. This was at the risk ofimprisonment or death due to strict Chinese anti-proselytizing regulations.I got a ride with the volunteer dentists from my

hotel in Siem Riep early in the morning, and by thetime we setup at an elementary school 20 milesaway, I was exhausted. Because the villages weserved were all so remote and the state of publictransportation in that part of Cambodiahorrendous, the only way the majority of the localscould get affordable, modern healthcare was if itcame to them.The mobile clinic was setup in a classroom of a

small elementary school. I spent the first part ofthe day wearing thick rubber gloves cleaning dentaltools in a solution of chemicals so that they couldimmediately be reused on other patients. While Iscrubbed blood and grime off of shiny metalinstruments, an endless stream of kids, no olderthan nine years old, came and went from the clinic.They came from the countryside, where dentalhygiene and even the sight of a toothbrush, wasalien to them.At the school for only six days, they had treated

over 150 orphaned children. The clinic was fundedby the Baptist Outreach Program out of Utah, andstaffed by international volunteers like myself. Theteam of professional dentists pulled teeth andfilled cavities, all the while giving lessons to the

kids about dental hygiene. Their strategy was toalleviate the most suffering they could with theirlimited funds. Accordingly, the programcarefully planned their route and contacted localauthorities ahead of time to let them know whenthey would be there.Due to their creed of helping the maximum

number of souls, they only had enoughNovocain to use on the children getting teethpulled out; the ones getting fillings had to bearwith the pain. And bear with it they did. Notonce did I hear screaming or wailing from thenumerous children lying supine on their backs.One of the dentists called me over and asked

me to shine a flashlight into a little girl’s mouthas he pulled out two of her rotten teeth.Though it must have hurt terribly, the girl was asquiet and as still as a mouse. After the dentistwas done, the girl very respectfully put her handstogether in front of her heart in the traditionalCambodian way of greeting and thanks. Assoon as she got off the chair and walked out intothe bright sunlight outside, another girlimmediately came in and took her place.Tessa and I, with the help of some of the

local teachers, launched into a dental hygienedemonstration, complete with posters inCambodian and larger than life false teeth and atooth brush we used to demonstrate properbrushing techniques. For the next several hours,the 80 or so kids sitting in the dusty playgroundof their school paid her the utmost attention andnever once took their eyes off of her to hit eachother or talk to their neighbor; a level of

Mobile Education in Cambodia

Cameron R. Nelson

The William & Mary Educational Review

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discipline almost unheard of in Americanelementary schools.After the demonstration, toothbrushes and

toothpaste were supplied to everyone, even theteachers and local villagers. These dental hygieneproducts were donated by charitable organizationsin the United States, and in many cases this was thefirst time they had ever been used in the villages.During a short break in the busy day, I had a

talk with the director of the Baptist OutreachProgram in Cambodia. He told me about someother programs that were currently underway inthis area. These programs included digging wellsin 15 villages to provide 8,000 people with cleanwater, donating wheelchairs to local hospitals, andhanding out eye glasses, in addition to their mobiledental clinic, which is always on the move, weekafter week, going to poor rural village after village.Most of the children in rural parts of

Cambodia have never brushed their teeth in theirlives. The children who came in to get their teethpulled today never knew who paid for it. Theynever knew that donations to a church in theUnited States paid for the tools that helped pulltheir teeth and fill their cavities. The educationthese children received would prevent them fromfollowing in their parents’ footsteps and eatingwith cavity-stricken teeth for most of their adultlives.

About the author

Cameron R. Nelson is an MBA student in the MasonSchool of Business.

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