Wow, sometimes stories come across my desk that really make me smile. Meet ChangeMaker Kwame Otuo-Achampong, he never imagined that brushing and flossing his teeth would fascinate his friends in Ghana. Then again, the Rutgers University-Newark senior never expected people in his parents’ native country would still clean their teeth with something called a chewing stick.
Making that realization on a trip to Africa in 2009 set in motion a mission for the biology major with a minor in entrepreneurship: provide proper dental tools and the know-how to use them to the millions living without both worldwide.
“This is something I believe is my calling and my purpose,” said Otuo-Achampong, 21, whose seed for the nonprofit organization, Project Dental All, was planted when he shared a few extra toothbrushes, tubes of paste and floss with friends in Ghana.
After registering the nonprofit in 2012, it has racked up more than 3,500 likes on Facebook, established four chapters in the United States and launched projects in Africa and the Caribbean to distribute thousands of donated toothbrushes, paste and floss to hundreds of kids. In December, Otuo-Achampong, who hopes to study dentistry at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, returned to Ghana with his family and about 4,000 dental care supplies.
Project Dental All is a non-profit corporation focused on establishing and raising dental awareness amongst children all over the world. The organization’s mission is to advocate the importance of dental hygiene to uninformed children. We also plan to establish a source of dental products that are supplied to schools and orphanages in order to improve the standard of living and life expectancy of children.
“As much as we had, it was not enough,” said the Lake Hopatcong resident, who had to turn away children when they ran out of toothbrushes. “It was really disappointing to see a child who now knew they needed it, but couldn’t have it.”
Project Dental All wants to advocate proper dental hygiene for those who are not fortunate enough to have access to the products necessary to take care of their oral health. Mother Theresa once said, “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” Even though they can’t provide oral care for the whole continent at once, they know that they can start with several thousands in a country and expand from there. They want to do what they can to help those who struggle. I love it, love it, love it! To learn more about Kwame and his nonprofit Project Dental All visit www.projectdentalafrica.org, you can also like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter!
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