From January 7th to 15th, Dr. Jason LeMoine was accompanied by his father, Dr. David LeMoine, and son T.J. to Nicaragua where they joined forces with Global Brigades.
Global Brigades is the largest student-led nonprofit organization, was 2015’s top rated nonprofit, and has membership from all over North America and Europe. With Global Brigades, the LeMoines offered their services in mobile dental clinics directly within the rural community where they were given the opportunity to evaluate patients in order to provide necessary care and medication. While both local and foreign dentists provide dental care to patients, unlicensed volunteers are able to participate in tasks such as instrument sterilization, post-op care instructions, shadowing dentists during procedures, and conducting children’s educational workshops on dental care.
At the end of each day, the team was given the opportunity to break into groups and reflect on the significant impact that their work has brought to the community. Dr. David LeMoine described the experience as “a great opportunity to serve in a developing country in extreme need, and the participation of dentists from the Fox Valley and Green Bay was wonderful.” In addition to Nicaragua, Global Brigades has programs in Honduras, Panama, and Ghana that assist in dental, business development, medical, and environmental needs.
Dr. Jason LeMoine with his son T.J. LeMoine (studying to become a dentist at Marquette University), and father Dr. David LeMoine on their mission trip in Nicaragua to assist Global Brigades in providing dental care to rural communities.