AN AMBITIOUS dental student from Weymouth is preparing to volunteer for three weeks in Sri Lanka to help provide treatment for disadvantaged people.
Camilla Llewellyn, 20, is a third year student at the Peninsula School of Medicine and Dentistry in Plymouth. She is training to become a dental surgeon with the aim of working in Weymouth when she qualifies in two years’ time.
This July Camilla will be spending three weeks of her summer break volunteering in a hospital in Sri Lanka. She will be assisting with and carrying out dental treatment for patients who often have dental diseases which are in the advanced stages. She is asking for support from the community to help fund her trip and help her make a difference.
Camilla said: “I know that some of the dental conditions I see are going to be quite shocking when compared to the patients I treat on clinic in Plymouth but I am prepared for this. I know that I will be supporting a developing country with their healthcare by providing treatment for disadvantaged patients and also gaining valuable experience for my future career.”
The hospital also has a maxillofacial department where patients with facial deformities for example can receive life-changing treatment.
Camilla said: “I cannot wait to be part of a project that provides treatment for those who are disadvantaged that we take for granted here in our country.”
A six-month-old Sri Lankan boy, born with cleft lip and palate had the condition treated at the hospital and will now be able to eat, drink and breathe normally and will now have a life free of discrimination and cruel stares.
Camilla added: “When I read about this case with the baby boy I was shocked and saddened to realise that many of these cases are left untreated. There is a huge contrast between healthcare in Sri Lanka and in our own country.”
The determined student will also be spending one week in a Sri Lankan forest called Ayurveda where she will be living with a host family and working with a trained Ayurveda practitioner to learn how to make medicines from the trees and barks of the forest.
Camilla is approaching local dentists and businesses to ask if they will sponsor her towards the cost of her trip. She is hoping that her ‘Smile Team’ will help her to help others who are disadvantaged.
She added: “If anyone is able to support me with a donation, however small, I would be so grateful.”
Camilla is organising a tea party as part of her fundraising efforts at Chickerell Primary Academy from 2pm to 4pm on Saturday. July 2 with everyone welcome.
Contact Camilla via the Echo on the number below if you are able to support her fundraising in any way.
