Thanks for visiting my fundraising page.  As most of you probably know, fundraising is not my favorite activity...

However, this is a wonderful cause that I feel strongly about and hope that you are able to help in any way.  While volunteer medical and dental missions are clearly not the answer to solving all of the health care inequalities throughout the world, without such efforts, many people would simply never receive the care that they need.  And the extent to which an individual, or a group of individuals can make a difference and have an impact on a community/culture, then in some small way there is real progress and improvement.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to Peru while in college, and visited some of the most amazing places I have ever been.  Since then I have been fortunate to be able to pursue professional training in dental medicine and subsequently specialty training in oral medicine, and truly love practicing my specialty, teaching students and residents, and helping patients and their families on a daily basis.  Throughout this period, my interests in South America, History, Archaeology, and Peru in particular have only continued to grow.  Unfortunately, the history of Peru (and much of Central and South America) has left large segments of the indigenous population destitute and without access to basic health services, such as dentistry, and the Apurimac region, not far from the tourist center of Cuzco, is one of the country's poorest.     

Dental Project Peru (http://www.dentalprojectperu.org/) provides emergency dental care and education to the most impoverished and rural areas of Peru.  What struck me about this non-profit charitable organization is that there is no religious affiliation at all, so the mission of the organization is simply to provide care for those at need, for the sake of doing good.  There is much more information on the website, including background on the founder, Dr. Jacqueline Kotula, a dentist roughly the same age as me from Glasgow, now living with her husband in San Francisco.  Assuming that this is a successful and rewarding experience (which I have no reason to doubt), I plan to continue with this organization and hope to incorporate these trips into the training of my oral medicine residents.  As you can tell, I am very much looking forward to this trip in October. 

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Dental Project Peru gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.  Since the charity is based in the UK, everything is in British Pounds.  You can easily convert dollars to pounds via a number of websites to determine the appropriate amount you wish to donate.

So please sponsor me now, and thank you again for your generosity!