How many toothbrushes do you need to care for a village?

Once again Country Club Christian Church is sending a mission team to Nicaragua. The trip participants are: Carty Johannsen, Beverly Johnson, Anne Ingersoll, Carla Aday, Stephanie Pilkington, Lori Bennett, Dr. Jim Stanford (a dentist from St. Louis and nephew of Lee and Jarene Stanford) and Dr. Stanford’s daughters, Allison and Ashley.

I was part of the team that traveled to Honduras in 2005 and I am thrilled to embark on another mission trip. We will be traveling to a new village in Nicaragua this year – Aguas Frias, Kilambe. It is located near Jinotega and Wiwili in the mountainous region of Nicaragua. Since this is the first time a group from our church has traveled to this village, we do not have a lot of information about what to expect. A true adventure!

We are taking supplies to put together 400 home health kits and Dr. Stanford will be bringing enough dental supplies to hold clinics for 4 days in the village. Given constraints on weight for our suitcases, we have purchased many items in Nicaragua. Our suitcases will contain the vitamins, toothbrushes, dental floss, antibiotic ointment and a portable dental chair. Each team member is packing as much as possible into their carry-on luggage in order to make space for all these critically needed supplies. I don’t think my husband ever thought I could travel for an entire week with only one duffel bag for all my clothes, shoes and daily necessities.

For the home health kits, we will have: 15,000 tablets of acetaminophen, 400 bottles of acetaminophen liquid for children, 7,500 tablets of ibuprofen (we have a lower count on these as they are twice as strong as the standard US dosage), 21,600 children’s vitamins, 24,000 adult vitamins, 20,000 antacid tablets, 18,000 cough drops, 10,000 bandages, 400 tubes of triple antibiotic ointment, 400 bars of soap, 400 tubes of toothpaste, 400 packages of dental floss and 1,500 toothbrushes

The estimated cost of the items contained in the home health kits is approximately $14. The average monthly income in Nicaragua is $35. While the total number of each item sounds pretty great – once divided by 400, they are not quite so big.  Example: 24,000 adult vitamins equals only 60 vitamins per home health kit.  Even if there are only two adults in the family that is only a one month supply each. Within the home health kits, each item will be labeled in Spanish. The kits will be passed out at classes, where each item will be explained and information given on how to use properly.

The team will meet Saturday morning to divvy up all the home health supplies into suitcases and meet the Stanfords face to face before we leave for Nicaragua very early Sunday morning. We aren’t expecting to have much internet access but I will post updates when I can.

Keep us in your prayers as we travel to spread God’s love through the work of our hands and hearts.

Lori Bennett