Dr Raffaella Gabassi will provide free dental care those living in poverty

Dentist Dr Raffaella Gabassi is set to swap her Chiswick treatment rooms once again for villages in Vietnam in a quest to provide free dental care and health education to children and adults living in poverty.

"I am about to leave my two little children and my husband and embark on the same mission I embarked on last year and I had an overwhelming support from so many," Raffaella told ChiswickW4.com.

"I will be leaving on the February 19th to go to Vietnam and provide Dental Care and Dental Health Education with a small group of volunteers for over two weeks.

"We will be reaching rural and remote communities on the border with Cambodia who live in the most abject poverty and bring relief both in the form of Dental Care as well as by bringing gifts such as toothbrushes and educational material such as books pens and writing material.

"We will also devote much of our time in the teaching of prevention of Oral Disease in our quest for lessening pain and suffering. This teaching will change future generations’ lives. These children live in constant pain as their dentition is in appalling condition and they have no money to seek medical help. In addition to all this I will also take upon the task of sponsoring this orphanage, photographed on the left of this page."

She continued, "I will pay for their clothing, education and food for the years to come, I will therefore continue with this fundraising as long as there is enough strength in me and as long as I am blessed with good health, because, my friends.... though we cannot change everybody’s life, we can at least change some peoples' lives. If you wish to personally sponsor any of these children in this orphanage please contact me and I'll arrange for this. These children have no toys; the ones they are holding are the ones we brought to them last March. If you have old toys as well as clothes for boys and girls that you wish to give away (not too heavy toys) please let me know, and I see if I can ship them over."

On a personal note Raffaella said, "I, myself, was brought up in poverty, with a mother that was providing for us two sisters on a meager factory wage, but still there is no comparison to the way these children live. I am now a very lucky woman, I have my own business, and provided I can pay all my staff and take a small salary for my own personal use I am willing to devote much of the income made by my Dental Surgery to helping these children.

"I will completely sponsor my own trip, pay for my own travel, accommodation and expenses. All donations will go straight towards the buying of equipment and materials needed to help the children living in rural Vietnam. The new year has started and this could not be a better time for giving and thinking of the less fortunate children. Thank you for helping those less fortunate than us, thank you for helping them smile. Please donate through www.firstgiving.com/raffaellagabassi."

Check Up Offer

Raffaella will offer to give free check up to all children up to the age of 18, registered and not, for the month of January and February if they make a contribution of at least £10 pounds per check up. Call 020 8747 9933 to arrange an appointment.

January 13, 2011