The ADCERRA Dental Team goes to Gujarat

Each day in a different school in a rural, semi-tribal area of Gujarat, village children lined up for their first ever dental checkup. There were tears for a few, but in the end new smiles for all, thanks to a dedicated team of Aurovilians. In a remote part of India, the Auroville Dental Centre Education Research Rural Action (ADCERRA), known for its innovative rural treatment, conducted a dental camp in Baruch, Gujarat from the February 20th to March 3.

Along with Jacques Verré, founder of ADCERRA, were team members Banumathi, Harikrishnan, Palani, Rakhal, Sengeni, Suriyagandhi, Tamilselvi and Tapas Bhatt (whose native town is in the area and who served as a translator). The camp was arranged by Aurovrata, of Syllogic Consultants through CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and funded by Century Enka Limited.

The team travelled by train for 30 hours to reach the destination and were accommodated in the same compound as the plant. Accompanied by the constant helpful presence of Priyank Nahar and Mayanka Padriya of Rajashree Polyfil, they then embarked on a daily odyssey through the local villages. They provided oral health education, advice on nutrition, dental check up and basic treatments within 17 Government primary and middle schools and the affiliated CBSE school of Rajashree Polyfil. Toothpaste and brushes were distributed to all the students. They carried out an astounding 1417 check ups of which 80% revealed problems. Treatments were done on the urgent cases.

As for the landscape: “It was like going back 40 years,” says Suriyagandhi, “to a time of bullock carts, mud houses, a few motorbikes and mainly agriculture, watered by the Narmada River canals”.

The trip included a visit to Baroda and the house where Sri Aurobindo lived during his time of working as Principal of the school and the Maharaja’s secretary. They also visited Tapas’ ancestral home in the nearby town of Rajpipla.

ADCERRA hopes to continue their work in the region of Baruch, providing a more durable and economically sustainable solution, in collaboration with Rajashree Polyfil, to the problems of oral health care highlighted by this camp.