I already noticed that Dr. Omar* is not just a dentist: he and a number of colleagues voluntarily travel in turns to Dahra to start up dental care in the clinic, a major need among the population. He tirelessly offers consults, extracts molars and often opens the Bible in the treatment room. He shines when he tells me his special story.
Omar says that Jesus is his motivation to help those who need it. He himself has only recently started following Jesus. His dental training was the way to Jesus. Benin, the country where he comes from, recently had no dental training at all. All 60 Beninese dentists (out of 13 million inhabitants) are trained abroad. In addition, almost all of them will soon retire. Dr. Omar was among the happy first batch of dentistry students in his country.
Unfortunately, the university was unable to find enough trainers and internships and after 5 years there were still major gaps in the study programme. Omar and the – at that time – 35 dentists in training saw the future shattered. They had meanwhile founded a foundation, of which Omar was the first chairman. They wrote to the government and spoke to the health minister. They requested for a three-year internship in Senegal and a full diploma.
There was no result and a number of Christians in the foundation suggested that they would pray. Omar, who had grown up with a different religion, was skeptical. But deep in his heart he was also touched by their faith and he wanted to take up the challenge. He said to God that if their prayers were answered, he wanted to serve the God of the Christians. On the ninth day of prayer the miracle happened: the government awarded a scholarship to all 35 students and the past year they all have been on an internship in Senegal. This remarkable story explains Omar’s tremendous motivation. He and his colleagues are currently a great blessing to the clinic in Dahra in starting up dental care.
It is possible to support this project by donating to the Christian and Missionary Alliance with reference “Equipping Medical Mission” https://secure.cmalliance.org/give/