Joseph Smith, the first prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often mistakenly called the Mormon Church), was once asked by a member of the legislature how he was able to govern so many people and preserve order. The Prophet Joseph Smith replied, “I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves.”1
Through a revelation Joseph Smith received, members of the Church of Jesus Christ were taught the principle of being “anxiously engaged in a good cause” doing “many things of their own free will.” Latter-day Saints, often mistakenly called Mormons, endeavor to find good causes—small and large—because they believe that the “power is in them” to do good. (See Doctrine and Covenants 58:27–28.)
Latter-day Saint, Dr. Philip Openshaw, of Modesto, California, is “anxiously engaged” in the good cause of providing dental training and care to people in Africa. His group, LDS African Smiles Inc. travels to Africa annually. (LDS African Smiles is not funded by or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.) The group’s goals are to provide training for African dental providers, to take care of the hundreds of native Latter-day Saint missionaries serving in Africa who have never seen a dentist before, and to help other non-profit organizations.
Dr. Openshaw and his team of dental professionals traveled to Kampala, Uganda, Africa, where they were invited to practice at the Mulago Dental School. The school, described by Dr. Openshaw as “one of the most modern dental schools in East Africa and maybe anywhere in Africa” was created through donations by many groups, including Rotary International and the Church of Jesus Christ.
Uganda is one of the poorest nations in the world and its capital, Kampala, has a population of over 1.6 million. Dr. Openshaw said that dental treatment in Uganda is predominantly tooth extraction. He and his group of dental professionals seek to help move the dental profession in Uganda into prevention, and dental student training was the primary focus of this trip.
“The digital X-rays blew their socks off. They had never seen anything that cool before,” said Dr. Openshaw. “Even dentists in the outlying areas came into town for a demonstration.” During their two weeks at the dental school, they had “completed 81 exams, 148 X-rays, 65 deep cleanings, 156 fillings, removed 16 teeth, and performed one root canal.” The students at the dental school assisted with every patient and asked many questions.
Preventive treatment was approximately 95 percent of what LDS African Smiles helped provide. “X-rays and cleaning are the building blocks,” Dr. Openshaw said. “It makes great medical sense as well as financial, since it costs the same amount to remove a tooth as it does to do a filling, if it is done at the right time. Prevention is everything in Africa.”
The group accomplished their other goals on their trip to Uganda. They provided free dental services to many LDS missionaries serving in Uganda from other African countries, such as, Congo, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Madagascar.
The Church of Jesus Christ seeks to improve the lives of all members of the Church and has designated a special fund to improve the lives of its missionaries.2 Although Dr. Openshaw’s efforts are independent of the Church’s efforts, his vision is the same. LDS Africa Smiles has the goal to provide dental work to at least 1,000 African missionaries serving in the continent.
About 30 girls from the non-profit organization “Set Her Free” were also patients of Dr. Openshaw and his team. “Set Her Free” is a safe house in Uganda for young girls who have been rescued from human trafficking. The home provides food, shelter, education, medical care, and resettlement opportunities.
Dr. Openshaw recalled a favorite experience with one of the girls in the “Set Her Free” house. “When we first met her, I couldn’t get her to smile. . . . We spent a good hour or more repairing her front teeth and then when we asked her to smile again, she still wouldn’t—until we handed her a mirror. Then she started to cry and laugh all at the same time! Her friends were so excited to see her new smile! It sounded like a New Year’s Eve party with everyone singing and dancing!” He said that at that moment he realized the full impact of his dental team’s visit to Uganda.
In the past, LDS Africa Smiles provided dental care in South Africa and Rwanda. They plan to return to Africa again next year because of their “life-changing experiences that will never be forgotten.”
Notes:
1. “The Organization of the Church,” Millennial Star, November 15, 1851, 339
Reference:
Missionary Moment: Smiles in Uganda
This article was written by Paula Hicken, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Paula Hicken was an editor with the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship from 2000 to 2013. She earned her BA degree in English from Brigham Young University. She edited Insights, the Maxwell Institute newsletter, and was the production editor for Faith, Philosophy, Scripture, Hebrew Law in Biblical Times (2nd ed.), Third Nephi: An Incomparable Scripture, and was one of the copy editors for Analysis of the Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon. She also helped manage the Maxwell Institute intellectual property and oversaw rights and permissions. She has published in the Ensign, the Liahona, the LDS Church News, and the FARMS Review.
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