Twice a week Lourie Ferreira heads out into rural Zambian communities to show God's love through dentistry.
“There's no such thing as an appointment. Here, [people] are lucky; they can just walk in, and five minutes later, the pain will be gone.”
OMer Lourie Ferreira is a qualified dentist. Originally from South Africa, Lourie and his wife, Gisela, moved to England where Lourie practiced as a dentist for several years before God called them to Zambia to work with orphans and vulnerable children. Lourie soon realised that the rural community where they reside was also in need of his dentistry abilities.
“There's no dental services around here. The nearest town, Sesheke, is 40 kilometres away, and they don't even have a dentist,” said Lourie.
“This is such a poor area; these people don't have two kwacha to rub against one another, let alone [have money] for dental services. So everything here is done free of cost.”
Twice a week, Lourie packs the back of his truck with instruments and supplies donated from the UK and heads out with one of his assistants. Thursdays, they set up on the porch of a medical clinic, and Fridays, they can be found under a large tree.
“For most of them, this is a foreign environment; they've never been to a dentist. You can tell as you're extracting that this is the first tooth they've had treated. It's a totally unfamiliar concept, but once they get to know you, they come from far and wide,” said Lourie.
Some patients walk five kilometres to catch the ferry that crosses the Zambezi River, then another 10 kilometres to see Lourie; some walk from the nearby villages. All walk with an ache in their mouth.
“I don't know if you've ever had a toothache before,” said Lourie. “But it controls your whole being. The fact that, in a minute or two, they can be relieved of that pain and agony is amazing for me.”
Upon arrival, each person joins the queue. One-by-one, they sit in Lourie's fold-out chair as he tips their head back and peers into their mouth to get a good look at the problem tooth. After a shot that numbs the area, Lourie sends them off to wait until the injection has had enough time to kick in. Then they are back in the chair, mouth open wide as Lourie extracts the tooth, sometimes, in more than one piece, depending on the degree of decay.
“When they come to [me], their teeth are so bad and so far beyond repair that there's only one way to solve [the problem], which is to take it out,” Lourie said. “We're really just basic pain release.”
One patient, Eric, lives just down the road from the tree where Lourie sets up his office on Fridays. Having been there twice before, he came to get a third tooth removed. After an injection to numb the area, Lourie clamped the tooth and quickly removed it, Eric neither flinching nor grimacing during the process.
“No, it wasn't painful,” Eric said. “[Lourie's] ok.”
Each patients leaves with two things in hand; a few pain relievers and their tooth. The reason the patients keep their teeth is twofold. One, Lourie does not have the means to dispose of the teeth properly, and two, in the culture, keeping something from one's body, for example a tooth, is like keeping a piece of that person and can then be used for witchcraft. Lourie wants no confusion about the fact that he is there to do God's work and is happy to return the teeth to their owners.
“I cannot do this ministry without the Lord,” said Lourie. “I see His hand in everything we do here. [Dentistry] is a way for me to touch people's lives and show God's love for these people.”
Interested in learning more about opportunities to serve in Zambia? Check out OM’s opportunities here.