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Volunteers with local dentist at school
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Local dentist brings volunteers to his home school
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Leah, our Community oral health guide since 2017
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learning to problem solve dental equipment issues
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oral health discussions with nursing interns
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all set up ready to start dental treatment
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Bringing dental services to remote island
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Our helpers in the community
| Summary: | In 2024, "Solomon Smiles" begins a new chapter with Rotary, building on ten years of volunteer dental work in rural Solomon Islands. What started as a grassroots effort to provide basic dental care in underserved communities has become a mission to create lasting relationships based on cultural understanding and respect.
Supported by Rotary's governance and the Solomon Islands' government, we're ready to scale our efforts.
Volunteers have provided care since 2015, staying with communities, fostering connections, and sharing knowledge. With Rotary's backing, we aim to expand services, improve infrastructure, and empower local dental teams for sustainable impact.
Our current appeal is to raise funds to build a new dental clinic at Kirakira hospital, the provincial capital. |
| Challenge: | Government dental clinics face severe equipment shortages, limiting the quality of care and making it difficult to retain dentists in rural areas. Additionally, equipment breaks down quickly due to a lack of maintenance capacity and the harsh environment. Local dental teams lack access to relevant continuing education, and with an inadequate workforce, they are focused solely on urgent pain relief. This leaves little time to gather data or develop oral health strategies and educational resources. |
| Solution: | We plan to set up well-equipped dental clinics and provide training for maintaining and repairing equipment. By fostering knowledge exchange between volunteers, universities, and local teams, we will develop tailored oral health resources. Our volunteers will assist in outreach efforts and collect data to support provincial oral health strategies. This will build lasting relationships between Australian and Solomon Islands health professionals, improving long-term outcomes. |
| Long term impact: | By establishing sustainable dental services and building local capacity, we aim to improve oral health outcomes across rural Solomon Islands. Our efforts will reduce equipment failure, retain skilled dentists, and enable the local workforce to include more preventative and comprehensive services. Through knowledge sharing and data-driven strategies, we hope to create a stronger, self-sufficient dental health system that continues to serve communities for years to come. |
| Sponsored by: | Rotary Club of Mooloolaba, District 9620 |