In Ponorâta, the month of September started with a lot of excitement and arrangements for the second community event: a medical caravan open to all the residents of the comuna. For five days, between the 6th and the 10th of September, the classrooms were transformed into medical offices.
Three volunteer health professionals from Germany provided close to 200 dental checkups and treatments, and medical examinations. 119 children and adults received a general consultation and 76 received dental consultations. Although people from all over the comuna were invited, most of the participants to the caravan were from Ponorâta and only a few from the other villages.
The dental practice was particularly popular because consultations and treatments are usually expensive. This is the reason why many children and adults from deprived areas don’t go to the doctor on time and their dental problems get worse. During the 5 days, the dentist has hardly coped with the demands from the community.
Regular medical caravans represent a great opportunity for both adults and children to be seen by a doctor who has the patience to see them and explain the next steps. The Coroieni health community nurse will follow up on the more serious cases identified and will assist the people to continue investigations or receive treatment.
The medical caravan was a joint effort of the German organisation Die Johanniter, the Reality Check and OvidiuRo associations, the Coroieni Town Hall, the Coroieni School, and the dedicated volunteers.
Photo credit: Bogdan Dincă