Kristie Guffey was applying the dental sealant on a young boy in the coastal village school.

 A group of students traveled to Ecuador during the winter session on an agricultural study abroad experience.  There were 18 students traveling along with Dr. David Coffey, Dr. Melissa Stewart, Kristie Guffey and a dentist from Winchester, Kentucky. 

Agriculture freshman, Josh Dennis and Junior, Andrew Peden applying dental sealant.

The entire WKU agricultural group 14,000’ high in the Andes Mountains.

Pre-Pharmacy major, Lashelle Courtney wrapped up our trip with these words, “To see mountains that touch the clouds, to witness farms and plantations of bamboo, bananas and palm oil, to be indulged into lifestyles that are new and different from our own, to touch peoples´ lives and have them touch ours right back, the study abroad trip to Ecuador was the trip of a lifetime.”

 By:  Kristie B. Guffey

January 19

In the afternoon, we visited the artist Enrique Estuardo Alvarez. He works in a truly lovely old colonial property owned by an arts foundation in Cumbaya, one of the lovelier neighborhoods in all of Quito. Cumbaya puts one in mind of any town one might encounter in Southern California, complete with the obligatory KFC and Mickey D’s.Kentucky Ecuador Partners brought Enrique to our state in 2003 for a show of his paintings at the Lexington Public Library, and workshops at UK, EKU and WKU. Since then, his success has been phenomenal, and prices for his paintings have skyrocketed. He did a public works project in Ecuador called Faces of Ecuador, where billboards of his paintings were placed along the highways. He was also selected by Absolut Vodka to design a bottle cover which was then transferred to black leather jackets, sold only in Switzerland. Technically, his new work is as good as it gets, very cutting edge as well as political. He continues to do Faces of Ecuador and these works evoke a strong emotional response from all who see them. All the students bought books of his work and postcards with reproductions of his paintings.

We awoke early and were off to inspect a plantain (sometimes mistaken for bananas) plantation. This farm exports most of their product to the U.S.via Bonita. It was interesting to find out that banana plants grow young plants (sort of the way orchids sometimes produce sports) around their base as they get older. The workers select the best new plants and cut down the rest, so it is unneccesary to replant. They recycle the cut materials. As the plant matures, a purple flower will appear, which is the biginning of a stalk of bananas. As the stalk forms bananas, a plastic bag with holes in it is placed over the whole stalk to protect it against insects. We were able to see how the banana tree is cut and the bananas are removed, treated and boxed up for markets in the U.S., Europe and Canada. After a great lunch of swordfish steak, we were off to visit a group of los Colorados Indians.

The los Colorados, more properly called the Tsachilas, are one of the most interesting indigenous groups in Ecuador. There are about 3,000 individuals left, living in 8 communities around Santo Domingo. They are well known for their healers and shamans. Most are farmers and they raise cattle. The men use a thick paste made from the achiote seed to mat down and color their hair. The men wear a knee-length wrap-around skirt, with black and white horizontal stripes, tied at the waist with a red belt. For ceremonies and healings, men and women paint their bodies with horizontal black lines, said to be indicative of the snake or serpent spirit.

We were told of the use of halucinogens to help the healers communicate with their ancestors and to better understand nature. We were allowed to view a mock-up ceremony to bring a young man into adulthood. It takes him 10 years to prepare for this, as he will be drumming and chanting for days to communicate with the spirit world.

Afterward we practiced spear-throwing and dancing. I placed a spear dead center in the target. These were really beautiful people, and it was moving to see how tight the family unit was. It was also very sad, as probably by the time our children are our age, the Tsachilas will probably be no more, their way of life giving over to an ever-expanding world population and more and more “progress”.

The next day we headed to a bamboo forest. It is owned by Carlos Penaherra. Carlos was born in Ecuador, but later moved to Ohio, where he graduated from Ohio State, later getting his post-grad from Harvard. He served in Viet Nam. He was an old hippie who developed a passion for bamboo. He returned to Ecuador, where he teaches at the University of San Francisco. He bought a farm in Santo Domingo and converted several thousand acres to bamboo production. He planted many varieties and harvests constantly. Bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world, growing several feet in a week. His main variety grows in clumps, with the oldest plants, the ones which can be harvested, in the center. This makes the harvest difficult. Hiking though this forest is like taking a trip back in time. It is dead quiet except for the wind and birds singing. One feels very close to nature in a beautiful preserve such as this. Of course, paradise always has serpents, and a bamboo forest is not exempt. There are many bushmasters (fer-de-lance), an extremely poisonous snake here. It is most advisable to wear knee boots and carry machetes, something which we were somehow not told earlier.

Bamboo has many practical uses, including furniture, flooring, and is even sold in 6-foot sections, which is used for exterior house walls, as well as interior paneling. It is very easy on the environment, as once it is planted, no heavy equipment is neccesary as this land will never have to be plowed under again. Every place bamboo grows, it causes springs of water to form  and much water is stored inside the plant itself. Even clothing can be made from bamboo. It is said that bamboo will completely overtake the cotton market, as cotton ultimately depletes the land, and bamboo does not. A company in California is already marketing bamboo clothing. The Skinner clan found this to be the most exciting farming possiblity of all the different operations we visited. Wow!!  We´re land greedy.Ruthi wants to be a bamboo farmer!

We then visited the fruit, vegetable, fish, meat—-oh, what the heck—-the Everything market in the small town of Concordia, very near the bamboo farm. The students were put off by the seafood and beef sections as they are accustomed to having their food processed, packaged and brightly displayed at their local Kroger. (These were mostly Agriculture students. How far we have veered from mother nature. We seem to have forgotten as a culture from where food actually comes).

Ruthi and I were blown away with the fresh crabs, still alive, huge swordfish where you had your steaks cut to order. There were many varieties of fresh fish, including red snapper. Also could be found every kind of fruits and vegetables known to man, plus fresh herbs by the armload, and fresh bread which was baked daily. If you lived near here, you would be able to eat like a king for very little money.

The market also had all the other things a person would need for his daily life, including that dang machete we weren´t warned to buy! Boots, too, for that matter.

The next day we toured a plam oil factory. There are thousands of acres in Santo Domingo which are planted in African Palms. It takes about three years for the trees to bear fruit. The palm nuts are then taken to the processing plant where they are graded, cooked, then the nut in the center is separated from the husk. The husk is then pressed and the red oil that is used for cooking is expressed and separated from any water. Most of this product goes to Brazil. The nut is then pressed and this second oil is used in cosmetics, granola bars, etc. What is left of the husk is used to fire the ovens for the cooking phase. The remnant of the nut process is bagged and is used as an igredient in feed for cattle. There is no product left which needs disposal. 

At 7:00 A.M., we left for Tena with Miguel Castañel, on public transport. Aware of how dodgy the bus trips can be in S.A., we knew we were in for an adventure. We stopped in Pifo, Miguel’s hometown,to pick up fresh bread (with chocolate in the center, and also with pineapple, Miguel says only his town does the piña) for the trip onward, and to meet his beloved mother. We unfortunately missed her; she is a very devout Catholic, and had already headed to church. But, to our delight, Pifo was in the second day of a 3-day festival celebrating San Sebastian, the town’s patron saint. Whoa!!! You already KNOW how the Skinners dig a parade—This should be big. The parade featured groups of dancers, musicians, clowns and, of course, the obligatory local beauty queens. I can still feel the excitement we felt as we just climbed right in and walked among the performers and floats to get lots of photos. What I loved most about this parade was that there were groups of dancers of all ages, from toddlers to a group of grandmas gettin’ down! The cutest indigenous kid of about three years was enclosed in a circle dance, boogying with all his family. What a doll! This festival is held every year at the same time. We were told that the entire day on Friday was given over to celebrating the Chagras, Ecuadorian cowboys. Many boys and men were still wearing their chaps from the previous days parades and partying. We will put San Sebastian on our calendars, making sure to take in the whole weekend event next year!

About one block from the corner where we would wait for the bus on to Tena, a young lady of 103 years of age, who had had a birds’ eye view of the festivities from her upstairs window, called down to us. Her daughter who was with her told us she was giving us her blessing, and they asked if we would like to come up for a visit. Even though we had no more time to stay and chat, we were reminded of just one more reason we love Ecuador; her people are as beautiful and inviting as the country. While waiting at the bus stop, we bought slices of fresh-cut watermelon, which we ate with our yummy chocolate bread right there on the side of the road. No three- star dining establishment could have made it any better than that.

When the bus arrived, we found seats wherever they were available. While things are quickly becoming more up-to-date even in Ecuador, where you rarely encounter live chickens and even small pigs, and where folks are no longer allowed to use the bus as a moving van (where entire household goods were stacked on top of the vehicle), it still sometimes seems like an every-man-for-himself undertaking. One woman who shared the space with Rankin and Ruthi on the back seat had little space and nothing to hold on to except the small child in her lap. No problem. She just politely leaned over, put her head on Rankin’s shoulder, and proceeded to fall fast asleep.

The ride to Tena takes one through a pass in the paramo, over 13,000 ft., the air turning very cold at those heights, before descending into the jungle. Sometimes the bus is held up for several hours until the ice/snow on the road melts, before proceeding through this pass. Condors are regularly seen here, if the clouds are cleared. We passed the lush green Papallacta Hot Springs, where there are many pools heated by volcanic activity. The terrain continued to become more tropical until we reached the edge of the jungle, Tena.

Tena is the capital of Napo Province and is considered the cinnamon (canela) capital of the country. The town sits at the convergence of the Tena and Puño rivers. The International Kayaking Championships were held here two years in a row recently. The area is well known for its whitewater rafting. We had a riverside room at the Hotel Posada, which faced an island park between the two rivers. Sleeping to the tune of whitewater running by the window, mixed with the exotic sounds of the jungle, made for sweet, peaceful dreams. The next morning we started our dental program, our first since Santo Domingo and Muisne. I will blog on the entire Ecuador Dental Health Initiative in a submission all its own.

Later in the afternoon, we took a dugout canoe to the island and were met by a green parrot which followed us everywhere we went during the visit. We called him “Coty”, after a beloved green conyer we used to keep as a pet. We found a drago tree, made a small cut in the bark, and a drop of the reddest “blood” instantly seeped out. As we have already reported, it is used to treat a wide assortment of ills, including Montezuma’s Revenge. Donnie’s greatest hero seems to be Samantha Brown, whom he watches somewhat religiously on the Travel Channel. She has been to Ecuador and preached, Chapter and Verse, on the efficacy of BOTD. We took a photo of him at the tree. He wants to tell his beloved Samantha that she has nothing on him. He has now been washed in the blood, so to speak.

This preserve has enclosed different kinds of jungle animals, plants and serpents, protecting them in as close to their natural habitat as possible. We were lucky to see an anaconda. They are usually very difficult to view as they are very shy, and also camouflaged. This one had just had a close encounter with an unfortunate duck (give you one guess who won?) and was consequently satiated and sluggish. We poled the canoe off the island at sundown, and finished the evening with a delicious dinner of Ceviche de Camarone (Shrimp). Our friend Victoria Carrasco would later tell us this healthful, scrumptious dish is called “lavante muerte“, roughly translated as Raised From The Dead, an apt description in our opinions. Yum.

The next day the group, (excluding Ruthi), took off for a whitewater rafting excursion on the Rio Anzu. The river runs by lush, thick jungle scenery, with an abundance of birds (we saw toucans) and monkeys. Amid the intense green there were trees covered with beautiful orange flowers, called Erytrina (Flame of the Jungle). After exhausting ourselves paddling through rapids we stopped for lunch at a river beach called Shangri-La. All I can say is it was aptly named. We pulled the raft from the river, turning it over to make a table. Our guide, Manual, served us homemade Ceviche de Palmitos (a vegetarian version of the usual seafood variety, and delicious!) yuca, hot rice, pepino (a melon-like fruit), fresh pineapple, apples, bananas, and (but, of course), Coca Cola. This meal will long remain in our minds as one of the 25 best of our lives. There was something mystical about standing on that beach, closing my eyes, and listening to the unbelievable jungle sounds and life which surrounded us.

The water temperature in the Anzu is relatively comfortable. That changes rapidly when the Rio Jatun Yacu converges. It comes from the glacial melt of the volcano Cotapaxi. The water turns frigid and we all began to pray not to fall out of the raft. (There we go, getting religion again). Eventually the Rio Anzu converges with the Rio Napo, which is the longest tributary in Ecuador of the Amazon River in Brazil.Donnie and Rankin just about killed themselves trying to drag that heavy raft back up the hill to the truck at the end of the trip. Thank goodness Ruthi was there with the proper provisions (dark Ecuadorian chocolate laced with hot pepper. Ruthi had not been completely idle during the day, herself).

While we were rafting, Ruthi had a private tour of the entire area, meeting many new friends, and seemingly learning all she ever wanted to know about the three surrounding towns. She ended up at a chocolate factory (Ecuadorian chocolate is considered to be second to none in the world, save the Swiss version). Free trade chocolate is a cottage industry for the indigenous tribes in the rainforest. It is one way they are able to sustain both their culture and the forest. She also bought jewelry made by the Yaorani (sic), sometimes spelled Warani. This is a once-fierce tribe in the rainforest which still retains its culture (excluding the headhunting and just general mahem they were famous, er, infamous for). Over the next decade, this will change drastically if we continue to explore their land for oil, and this people becomes more exposed to our way of life. Since they are now self-sufficent (and have stopped killing the missionaries), does our culture, our modern world, really have anything of true value to offer these people? We finished the day with another great seafood dinner, followed by ice cream made with fresh fruit. A huge single dip is 50 cents. Rankin’s favorite is Guanabana, which he considers the nectar of the gods. But, Coco, the cocoanut having been taken directly from the tree, WOW! This is divine.

Sadly, our stay in Tena came to an end with another hair raising (Daggone! This dude was in a hurry!) bus ride back to Pifo. Miguel’s dear elderly mother had made a wonderful, simple dessert for us, Quembolitos. (They reminded Ruthi so much of the simple treats her Grandma Landrum always made, called Sweet Cakes). Quembolitos are made from ground corn with raisins inside. They are then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. They have just the right amount of sweetness, not to compare to the sweetness of his mother herself, as she hugged, kissed and blessed us all and sent us on our way. In our country, most folks have become so jaded and fearful that it is hard for us to pour out unconditional love,remembering to “entertain strangers” as the good book says. Yet one more reason to love this enchanting part of the world. An hour and a half busride later, we arrived at our apartment in Quito, grabbed a taxi and rushed to the laundry with all those dirty clothes from the trip, fighting to get there before closing time. Not to worry; it is all working out. As Roberta pointed out more than once, we have been blessed by at least two lovely Ecuadorian women; what other blessings could we possibly ask for?

Rankin and Ruthi

In 1996, while on tour in Ecuador with the rock ‘n roll band Beau Haddock and The Highland Rim, our group ended up in Ambato to headline the Fruit and Flower Festival there. Bands and dance troups from all over the world participate in this annual event. While there, we were invited to a private performance of the local university ballet group. Their dance was choreographed to Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Ruthi commented on how beautiful the girls were, especially the lead dancer.
After the show, we were invited to a reception, where we met the dancers. To our dismay, we noticed that the prima ballerina had a huge cavity in her upper, front tooth, taking so much from her beauty, as well as,I am sure, from her self-esteem. As a dentist, I couldn’t help but realize this lovely, talented young woman would most likely require an extraction within only a few months. Afterwards, Ruthi insisted we had to add a dental component to the volunteer work we had already been doing in Ecuador for nearly ten years.The big question was—-What will we do, and how will we fund it?

For several years, we procrastinated because this would require a huge investment in time and money. In all my prior dental health projects (Haiti, Jamaica, Guatemala, Belize and Ecuador), I was unable to do anything but extractions, and could never come close to meeting the needs of the populace in these communities. It was frustrating to think I was doing nothing more than putting out fires. I came to realize more and more that prevention was the only true help, stopping the decay before it starts. So, in 2002, working directly with the Ecuador Minister of Health, we started a Sealant Project, where we provided the sealant material and training for government dentists in 15 clinics
in Ibarra and several surrounding communities, and 15 clinics in Quito.This was a partnership among the Minister of Health, the government dentists, the schools they supported, the parents, and Kentucky Ecuador Partners. Ruthi and I would provide the sealant material, and the government dentists would place them. The second year, on discovering that these children did not even have toothbrushes, we realized we sort of had the cart before the horse, so provided toothbrushes, which we obtained at a reduced rate from Darby Dental Spencer Meade, a dental supply house from whom we purchase our supplies for our own office.

In order to be successful, we realized we would need several components to this program. The dentists would place the material and every six months, under the pretense of checking to see that the sealants were still in place, they would see the kids back in their offices, clean and check their teeth and add fluoride into the process at the same time. The principals of the schools instituted a daily brushing program and included a dental health education program into their curriculum. Then, both the dentists and the schools began educating the parents. Most of the parents were subsistence farmers, with little or no education ,but loved their children just as we love ours, and wanted to help the kids in whatever ways they could. During the last year of this program, a new product for preventive dentistry entered the market. It was a new fluoride varnish with ACP (Amorphous Calcium Phosphate), manufactured by Premier Dental. This was destined to become one of the best preventive dental materials to ever enter the market. The ACP, when added to the Fluoride Varnish, causes the teeth to absorb 200% more fluoride than a regular fluoride treatment.

As an added bonus, the ACP remineralizes areas of the teeth which are just beginning to break down. We were soooooo happy to add this material into our preventive arsenal. After this 5-year program, we achieved a reduction in decay of 49%-78%, depending on the clinic responding. During this time, we were able to place 150,000 sealants, and provide toothbrushes to the schools. We were able to bankroll this project ourselves for the most part, because the ACP has other benefits. It is very inexpensive (especially when you get the company to give great discounts, knowing we will promote their company along with the material), and it is very light-weight, which allowed us to simply spread out a few hundred of the applications in our suitcases,shipping the rest with college students coming with Partners, etc. But, sometimes someone, usually one of our patients or sometimes good souls at First Presbyterian Church in Winchester, would just step up and donate a little money or help in some other way. For instance, a charming, cherished and somewhat funny story was about one of those patients and her mother. This patient told her mother up east about what we were trying to do, and both of them became determined to help out. One day, this lady, a Christian in the true sense (the kind the big guy intended that word to be) showed up at our office, telling us that her mother was outside with a gift. We went out to find this woman literally encased in that car with no room for anything but her and the 3,000 toothbrushes she was packing!! We were stunned, asking how and where she came up with all those toothbrushes, then drive them all the way to Kentucky. She simply replied “They’re from New Jersey; don’t ask any questions”. We didn’t.

Our patients Kathy (she with the mom from New Jersey) and Art Sebesta mentioned at one of their six-month check-ups in our office, that they would like to donate toothbrushes to the cause, and we thanked them very much. Three weeks later, we came home for lunch to find the front of our garage door to be covered with toothbrushes, some 25,000 of them! (For all our friends and family always ragging us about the fact our garage has not been cleaned out in years, now you get some small idea why. How can we keep loving, caring people from giving ’til it hurts?) It is hard to write this story without getting choked up just a little. And, the Sebestas are not the only folks who have given what they could, when they could. We have had several people just write a small check, or sometimes just give us some dental or medical supplies they know will be needed in Ecuador, understanding that we will always be good stewards and put every penny or item to good use. May you be blessed, one and all.

Our success in Ecuador led to The Clark County Dental Health Initiative, wherein the Clark County Community Foundation funded a dental health program in the Clark County Kentucky Public School System. We would place the fluoride varnish with ACP on all students, pre-school through 5th grade twice a year. We would then do a dental exam called a DMF survey (Decayed, Missing, Filled), to get an accurate measure of the decay rate in this group. Clark County had an initial decay rate of 50%, appallingly right in line with the rate in the state overall. This places Kentucky in last place in the nation in providing for the dental health of our children. After one year, we were able to realize an 11% decline in the rate of decay. This partnership is between the Winchester Dental Society, the Clark County Health Department, Clark County Community Foundation and the public school system. We are now in year 3 of this 5-year undertaking and are anticipating great success, and an even higher drop in the decay rate.

A note—-This group is also providing a new toothbrush and large tube of toothpaste to all 6,000 students in the Clark County School system.

This brings us to our 2011 dental program in Ecuador. Dr.David Coffey invited us to join his team from Western Kentucky University, including 22 students, to help provide a community service component to their January term Agriculture tour here in Ecuador. In Santo Domingo we trained the students to place the fluoride varnish and also to let them know that they would be leaving something tangible behind, that being hundreds of children whose teeth would be protected against decay for 6 months.

Our first volunteer opportunity was to treat 200 kids in the orphanage Casa Hogar de Jesus. The boys and girls were housed in separate buildings several blocks apart. The experience of working with this team will long be in our minds. The orphans were so grateful and expressed it with smiles, thank yous and big hugs. We went to the girls’ home first and fanned out to begin the applications. Ruthi was working next to a lovely WKU student named Lachelle. A beautiful little girl of perhaps 5 walked directly up to Lachell, looked into her eyes, gave her a winning smile, then wrapped her little arms tightly around her and would NOT let go. Believe us when we say there were tears all around that night when Lachelle had to reluctantly say goodbye. She desperately wanted to adopt the child.These scenes were repeated of course when we went to the boys’ home. These little guys were so adorable. They had already had their baths and were in their jammies when we arrived. We took a lot of photos of some of our guys holding sometimes three little boys in each arm. That is one of the beauties of volunteerism. The volunteers get as much reward as the folks for whom they work.

After we applied the fluoride varnish, all the kids were given toothbrushes. We also placed the varnish on the staff. During the training phase, it seemed quite apparent that the students wanted to do this as quickly as possible and get back to their iPods. But, once they started working, they were so touched by the response of the children that they never wanted the evening to end. Several of them told us this was the highlight of their trip. For many it was the first time they had provided a community service and been given unconditional love in return. The Skinners never tire of this type of work. We know that it is a service with measurable value and that a life of service is always a fulfilling one.(And, come on guys; what a great excuse to get away from the snow, ice and frigid temps of KY in the winter!).

The next day we headed to the city school of Saquisili. By then our team was so professional they had earned the name Los Increibles (The Incredibles). We spent the morning again placing the varnish and giving these kids toothbrushes as well. Several young kids and adults in the neighborhood asked to be treated so of course we did. We headed to lunch with great feelings of accomplishment.

Our next community dental program was in a fishing village deep in the mangroves near the coastal town of Muisne. We rented two dugout canoes with 100 horsepower motors. Leaving the town we blasted through the river, also named Muisne, trailing 5 foot rooster tails of water , half of which seemed to end up in the boat. Our ride through the mangroves was like a trip back in time. Although we were speeding through the mangroves, we were able to see many species of birds and animals in the air and on the banks. We finally arrived at a small isolated fishing village located on a peninsula, the ocean on one side, the river on the other.

As we neared the beach our boat bottomed out, so off came the shoes and we waded ashore. Approaching the tiny village, we came to realize that life here was pretty basic. The houses were wood shacks with tin roofs, and the people were subsistence hunter/gatherers. There were small dugout canoes, but no motors. It was quite obvious that all boat transportation had to be powerd by hand. Hunting, fishing, crabbing, shrimping, small gardens and fruit from the jungle provides all their food needs. The thing which impressed us most was the apparent cohesiveness of this community. They seemed to look out for each other like a close family.

As we entered the village , the children came running to grab our hands and lead us on. All the Spanish speakers in our group (Melissa Stewart, Spanish instructor at WKU, was along on this trip as translator) went from house to house to explain the purpose of our visit. In twenty minutes, everyone in the village had gathered at the community center. Our team began placing the varnish and passing out toothbrushes to all the kids and, as they insisted, we moved on to all the adults. Everybody in this tiny village were treated and their expressions of gratitude touched the hearts of us all. When it came time for us to leave, the people were begging us to stay and at least share a meal. We had to decline as we were losing daylight.
When we headed back, we were surprised to learn that the tide had gone out, and we all waded some 50 yards back to the boats. On the ride back to the town, everyone was quiet, reflecting on how hard some folks’ lives can be and how many blessings we all seem to have. We believe the WKU students’ lives will be forever changed by their participation in this dental program.

Back in Muisne, we trained Rodrigo, a foundation member, to place fluoride varnish and provided enough material for him to treat all the kids in the public schools there. Again, we left with a sense of satisfaction in what we were able to achieve.

After the Western Kentucky students returned to Kentucky on the 21st of January,we, along with Miguel Castanel, headed to Tena and the rainforest to continue our work. We rode a bus from Quito to the town of Pifo, then caught another bus on to Tena. After the thrills and chills of public transport in South America, we arrived safely at our destination. We met with the principal of the public school in Tena and explained our program. The local school dentist volunteered to assist us. The next day we passed out toothbrushes and placed the varnish on all the students in the school. We included pre-schoolers, where a 3-year-old approached Ruthi, threw her arms around her legs, and said “I want you to treat me”. Then Ruthi was rewarded with a big hug and afterward this child followed her around the school like she owned her. We finished the day exhausted, but happy that the children in this community now have six months’ protection against decay. The next day we had a day of rest, and set aside time to challenge the rapids of the Rio Anzu.

Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to Miguel Castanel, who made the arrangements for our entire rainforest activities. For those of you who may not know Miguel. he studied English at U.K., and speaks with a Kentucky accent. He also jumped right in and helped us place the varnish, something he had also done in the Clark County Schools when he was in KY last fall.
Ibarra, Winchester’s Sister City, would be the site of our next dental varnish endeavor. On our trip out of Quito, we drove through a dry, dusty area, then little by little, the lush green hills surrounding Otavalo began changing the scenery entirely. The area around Otavalo has not changed too much in the some 25 years we have been coming to Ecuador, although there is now a 4-lane highway. Many areas still shine through with the lovely site of patchwork gardens showing against the Andes. There are also still charming little farms with the black and white cows, from whom comes the cheese the area is famous for. And, of course the stunning site of Lago San Pablo and Pachamama, the heart of Imbabura. Okay, okay, Ruthi digresses. We’ll get back to that in a later post.

Some 15 miles onward is Ibarra. We rented the only transport we could find, a small farm truck with high walls surrounding the bed. We drove up through the community of Esperanza and continued climbing Imbabura. We finally arrived at the public school, El Abra. The principal of the school says the altitude of this school is 3,800 meters. That translated into 12,467 ft. and believe you me, there ain’t much oxygen to be found. We had to hire a truck because cars will not run at this altitude.

We placed the fluoride varnish on all the kids, only about 70 in this poor mountain village. Then we had the principal bring all the pre-schoolers from another school (at an even higher altitude) to be treated. We have been treating the children at this little school, checking to see if the government dentists were applying the sealants as directed, there being no ACP back then, since 2002. We are seeing very little decay and finally these once-neglected kids are being treated at the government clinics, being treated with fillings, and we’re seeing very few extractions.

One thing we were able to do for these little children which we could do nowhere else, is give them “prizes” for being good patients. Our beloved sister-in-law Roberta is an avid garage sale gal. Ever since we started doing our dental program in Ecuador, she has made a point of going to garage sales in the best neighborhoods in Lexington nearly every week. She seeks out only the best items, such as Beanie Babies, brand new ones still with the tags on them. (One year we were able to send down 300, something which is almost impossible now with the crazy weight restrictions put on by the airlines). Even so, by hook or by crook,enlisting the help and goodwill of some of the other travelers, such as some of the WKU students), we managed to get about 100 beanie babies, several packages of hot wheels, 3 dozen kaleidoscopes from the Skinner dental office, 600 silly band bracelets, etc.

We are, as we said, partial to this little mountain school, so we saved all the beanie babies and hot wheels for these little kids. They jump and squeal with delight over little tokens which so many of our spoiled little Gringo kids might just take for granted. How rewarding it was to us all as we saw their faces light up upon receiving these things. Rankin says he could feel tears starting to well in his eyes as we left, but he was certainly not moved by the kids. It was the altitude. That’s his story, and he’s sticking to it.

Stay tuned for the Kentucky Ecuador Dental Health Initiative, Part 2, coming in a later post.

Rankin Skinner, Ecuador