Community- led initiative “Prevent Tooth Cavity and Head Lice for Children”, Athar Al-Farashah and Beit Al-Wiam community centers, Rural Damascus, Jaramana.
Drawing on the belief “We Care about your Health”, especially taking care of children’s health at early ages, and due to the severity of head lice and tooth cavity spread among very young children, SSSD team, in cooperation with UNHCR, organized a community- led initiative (CLI) in Rural Damascus, titled “Prevent Tooth Cavity and Head lice for Children” on 12-10-2018.
The idea of the CLI came to life during a focus group discussion with the children who expressed their toothaches, their fear to visit the dentist, and their parent’s financial strains to treat them. They also mentioned that their friends suffer from head lice and spoke about the negative side effects on their health, everyday life, and daily routine, be it at home or school.
SSSD cooperated with Dr. Aghiad Daheem, who was enthusiastic to volunteer and help IDP kids. 50 children, boys and girls, received full- dental treatment. This kind gesture stressed the importance of community participatory work drawing on the abilities of each individual, offering help and supporting vulnerable groups.
4 barbers who benefited from the livelihood tool-kit program performed haircuts for 100 children, boys and girls. Those barbers believe in social responsibility, especially after receiving the tool kits that enabled them to provide for themselves and support others.
Dental treatment and haircuts were preceded by health awareness campaigns pertaining the importance of keeping the hair clean and treatment steps to end head lice, as well as, shedding light on kids’ tooth problems, how to prevent them through oral health and regular dentist visits. To break kids’ fear of dental treatment, the campaigns included entertainment activities, at which the dentist participated.
The adolescents from the mentoring program and child protection club participated in carrying out the activities of the campaign, including the entertainment activities.
This CLI had huge positive impact on all the participants and left unforgettable imprints, particularly raising awareness about health care to prevent tooth and hair problems. In addition to promoting the spirit of humanitarian assistance and aid.