Dear Friends,
I work as a School-based Addiction Counselor with Penticton Secondary School in the South Okanagan of BC. In December we began working with an economically challenged young woman in dire need of dental work.
The young woman, we’ll call her Jenna, is 18 years old and, after overcoming extensive challenges, she has returned to school to complete her general education. Jenna is an amazingly courageous young woman. Despite barriers that the world has presented her - poverty, abuse and violence, and drug addiction – she has remained determined and proactive, and dreams about creating a better life for herself and those she loves. Yet, despite her positive outlook and ability to create such profound change in her life, we rarely, if ever, see Jenna smile.
Due to the lingering effects of poverty, malnutrition, and exposure to ‘previous’ drug use, smiling is difficult for Jenna. Her teeth are broken, discolored, misshapen and blackened on the sides, and areas around her jaw line have eroded due to bone deterioration.
When Jenna speaks, laughs, or is congratulated on her many incredible achievements, she places a hand in front of her face to hide. Conversations about self-esteem and beauty elicit emotion and tears. In addition to the emotional pain she experiences from the appearance of her teeth, the physical pain she endures is chronic and a risk to her overall health.
Behaviors around Jenna’s smile illustrate the shame she continues to carry, and takes a toll on her ability to take those last steps forward in establishing her sense of self-worth and asserting her place in the world.
Through this project, we hope to raise enough funds to send Jenna, and young students experiencing similar dental needs, to a dentist who can relieve the damage and decay, and restore her smile to a healthy, pain-free, socially valued one so she can continue to succeed in realizing her dreams. We believe that giving a girl a smile can restore a sense of hope -- in herself and the world!
If you, or someone you know, is interested in helping this delightful, hardworking young women - and possibly others like her - we would welcome your donations and support, and invite you to please pass this message on to everyone you know who believes in making dreams come true!
Best wishes,
Misha Gardiner
“Too often we underestimate the power of a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” L. Buscaqli