Hima Cement, Case Hospital in Dental Hygiene Mission
Building Solutions firm, Hima Cement has partnered Case Hospital to deliver dental hygiene to children from Hima Town Council in Kasese District.
The three day exercise that kicked off on June 28, 2017 ran under the theme, ‘Strong teeth, Healthy Smiles,’ targeted 5,000 children, between the ages of 4 and 15, regardless of whether they were in school or not.
Dr. Julius Ssengoba, a Dental Surgeon from Case Hospital examines a child during the Hima Cement Dental Camp in Kasese. Looking on is Andrew White (R) Hima Cement’s Deputy Plant Manager
Caroline Kezaabu, the Communications Coordinator at Hima Cement said that the purpose of the dental camp was to help deliver the oral hygiene message as well as treat those with dental complications.
“This program is part our CSR focus areas of health and safety, education and the environment. We feel that this is the best time to target children because they are still very young. It therefore becomes easy to inculcate them into the culture of looking after their teeth and in the process arrest any complications they may have at the moment,” she explained.
Andrew White, Deputy Plant Manager Hima Cement maintained that the dental camp reflects the cement makers’ commitment to health in the community and specifically to the children.
“Hima Cement is part of this community. This is a moment to cherish because the children in Hima Town are today being worked on by some of the best dental experts in this country. We shall continue to support the communities around us in programs of health and safety, education and the environment,” he explained.
Hima Cement injected Ush40million into the dental camp where 20 dental professionals including eight dental surgeons from Case Hospital participated.
Services that were offered included; oral hygiene instructions, oral diagnosis, dental extractions, antibiotics and anesthetics administration after extractions as well as dental fillings.
Dr. Mustapha Katende, a Senior Dental Surgeon at Case Hospital explained that dental diseases are unique from other health complications because they do not appear right from the onset.
“Dental complications normally start without pain. By the time you feel the pain, there will already be an advanced complication. We are thus checking these children early enough so as to curb any future complications,” said Katende.
Adding, “Any child with a problem is treated on site. Those with more complicated issues are referred to hospital for further assessment.”
Geoffrey Drani, the Health Inspector, Hima Town Council lauded Hima Cement for empowering the communities to carry out their own health interventions.
“Thank you for empowering our community. The men have unfortunately not been involved in most of these health initiatives. I would like to remind everyone that your health is in your hands. You can choose to do anything with your life. We shall empower you but what you do when you go back to your places is really up to you,” he cautioned.
