Led by Central Oregon dentist Dr. John Spomer and his non-profit Heart for Hope, a group of volunteers from the town of Sisters, Oregon and elsewhere have been undertaking annual dental missions to underprivileged villages in Honduras for over a decade.
By partnering with Honduran non-profit Cadena de Amor, Dr. Spomer helps orchestrate dental clinics, sometimes seeing up to 60 schoolchildren a day for fillings, cleanings and extractions. His goal is to intervene early and reinforce good dental hygiene practices to save permanent teeth. As volunteer dentist Dr. Tom Rheuben observed, nearly every child suffers from rampant decay due to limited previous dental care and excessive soda intake.
Stories from volunteers like Kathy Campbell reveal the deep connections made. She said, “We always say when we arrive again that we are home in Honduras. It is like a family.”
In addition to necessary dental work, Heart for Hope has expanded its outreach to housing assistance and other unmet needs. Through visionary leadership and compassion in action, Dr. Spomer and his team are making lasting change in Honduran villages one smile at a time.
Read the full story by Ceili Gatley in The Nugget, an Oregon newspaper.
Read Dr. John Spomer’s blog posting about the July 2023 visit.