Virlanie has officially opened its dental clinic to its beneficiaries and street children in the nearby communities last March 18.
The dental clinic, equipped with all the necessary facilities for full dental services, was made possible thanks to the support of its sponsor Bruno Vergnes who also endorsed Virlanie to yet another sponsor, Terre Plurielle.
The dental clinic employs two well-equipped dentists–Dr. Jean-Francois Michel, who has been supporting the Foundation for many years through yearly dental mission, and Dr Beatrice Ruiz. The two dentists have been driving this new project from the start.
The inauguration was attended by our guests of honor, France’s Ambassador to the Philippines, His Excellency Thierry Mathou and his wife, Cécile Mathou, along with Laurent Goirand, Vice President of Virlanie Fundation, Dominique Lemay, Founder and President of Virlanie Foundation, as well as Virlanie Deputy Executive Director Arlyne Fernandez.
“We expect to help initially around 600 dental patients in the coming months, 200 from Virlanie and 400 from the community,” says Cenen Milan, Virlanie Foundation’s Program Director.
On average, the clinic hopes to cater to 15 patients per day and 600 per year. “Our volunteer dentists will also teach topics like oral hygiene and health education aside from working on helping Virlanie’s street children teeth,” Milan adds. The dental clinic is open for Virlanie beneficiaries from Monday to Wednesday while it is open for walk-ins on Thursday and Friday, from 9am to 5pm.
Milan also mentioned, “In the coming months, we will also be searching for Filipino dentists for additional help to our staff requirements for the Dental Clinic.”
“We are ready to assist the large number of street children, from walk-ins and especially the ones being assisted by Virlanie Foundation. We wanted to do something for them, by providing a dental service, where we can give them better dental hygiene” said Dr. Michel.
“We expect that the clinic will receive a sizable number of dental patients from Virlanie street children as well as from the community each day, and they are very welcome to do so” Dr. Ruiz adds.
Dominique Lemay, founder and President of Virlanie Foundation said the opening of the Virlanie Dental Cinic certainly marks a special day for the hundreds and hopefully soon thousands of Filipino street children and families, certainly something to smile about.
