"Would a complete dental surgery be of any use to you and that Africa Project?" was the question put to me by Mike Wheeler, ex-RAF dental hygienist who now works in a management position for the NHS in Somerset. "Well, err…yes as long as everything is working?" Was my response. Then, after confirming that everything was indeed working, one February day, I went to collect it.
Still warm from its last customer, the whole ensemble was indeed complete and fully functional. The chair, ceiling light, swirly spitty thing, tool console housing all those powered tools which make that unmistakable, "WHEEE" noise, and a huge selection of associated dental gadgetry all found their way back to C1 hangar at RAF Lyneham.
Sam Harrell is a Baptist Minister and the Chairman of the Africa Exchange Organisation based in Nairobi, Kenya. Project Albert had undertaken work in collaboration with Sam before, so the offer of a dental surgery, and its installation, came as no surprise to him. Within a second he had the ideal location for it. The Baptist Children's Centre (BCC) in the Dandora slum district of Nairobi has a newly constructed medical facility within its compound and would be the perfect location for a community based dental surgery. The BCC houses just over 50 orphans and former street children and has plans to expand its facilities to accommodate an ever-growing number of children orphaned by AIDS, or neglected by sheer poverty. The centre reaches out to the Dandora community of over 50,000 slum dwellers through the provision of water pumped from a well and through the recently established medical facility. There is no dental facility for miles around and even if there was, the people of the slums could ill afford to pay for treatment. So, the BCC would indeed be the perfect beneficiary of this next Project Albert endeavour.
The chair and its accessories lay dormant in C1 hangar for many weeks. The newly appointed Senior Engineering Officer (S Eng O) for 47/70 Eng Sqn, Squadron Leader Martin, raised an eyebrow over the storage of the equipment in his hangar but, once he understood why it was stored there he, thankfully, chose to tolerate this occupancy. Hanger space is always remains at a premium, so this was no mean concession. Unfortunately, Flight Lieutenant Phil Arnold, the RAF Liaison Officer (RAFLO) based in Nairobi, had been unable to offer much by way of transport for the equipment to Kenya until at least Oct 02 However, my daily dealings with the flying programme revealed an unmissable opportunity. Three of the newer, faster C-130Js were bound for Nairobi in the next few days and would be traveling with excess capacity available, so I asked S Eng O the obvious question… "What're the chances Boss?" A brief flurry of telephone activity ensued, some questions and answers to Squadron Leader Operations and Warrant Officer Cargo, then blow me down, within 12 hours of asking we were on the aircraft manifest! I suppose we must all be guilty of occasional cynicism at some point with regard to the RAF, but when the mighty company 'machinery' kicks in, it is an unparalleled delight to behold.
Captain Steve Harvey, a US Air Force exchange officer, and my new Flight Commander, had arrived only a few weeks earlier. He had already shown great interest in Project Albert so I invited him to join the team. The invitation was accepted, so Steve was officially in! Other team members included, Sergeant Barrie Norman who would be the all-important electrician. Sergeant Kev High and me, both of us being airframe engineers (riggers), we would be the 'muscle'. The only equipment we didn't have were the end pieces that go on the sucky thing dentists plonk in the side of your mouth, but the dental centre in the form of that nice lady dentist, Squadron Leader Byford, came up trumps and gave us a selection to take with us. Then, on 10th May, with everything planned and provisioned, armed with tools and equipment we were waved off by Wing Commander French, Officer Commanding Engineering Wing, as our shiny C-130J departed RAF Lyneham, bound for east Africa.
Dandora is a huge slum spread out over several miles with the Baptist Children's Centre located on its outskirts. Set in relatively peaceful and deceptively open ground Dandora is nevertheless a miserable place to live. The inhabitants are extremely poor, but remarkably resilient and possess an unsurprisingly powerful spirit of self-sufficiency, which characterises this humble and neglected people; the Dandora community would be most appreciative recipients of this project.
Project Albert's work started straightaway; we punched holes through block work, installed all the electrical cabling, dismantled the water system and generally made a right mess…albeit an organised one. The hardest task was chasing out a 4-inch channel in the concrete floor using a lump hammer and bolster chisel. Steve Harvey thumped away for hours until he declared that he had lost all feeling in his chisel hand. Kev High then put his not insignificant weight behind the hammer and after several more hours most of the serious work was done. It fell to me however, to steal the limelight and break through the final ½ inch to reach the aggregate below. Barrie Norman, being his irrepressible self, busied himself with anything electrical. In fact he stuck his nose into everything; the plumbing, the pneumatics, the roof work, even the concrete mix to ensure that what we did was 'right'. Everything came together like clockwork, nothing leaked, all the equipment worked, everything was done 'right'. Four days later the Dandora Children's Centre had a fully functioning dental surgery complete with every conceivable gadget any dentist may wish for. The cost was about £550…some grazed skin and a bit of back ache. The surgery will open twice a week and will be staffed by professionals paid for by the Africa Exchange Organisation.
With the surgery completed and precious little time left before our ride home, we sacrificed our last few hours in Kenya to survey potential tasks for the next Project Albert in the Kayole slum district. Project Albert has a long list of potential jobs to consider including the completion of a school in Kibera, the construction of a school and community kitchen in Kayole, a suspension bridge project, a water bore hole to be made, pit latrines to be built, the list goes on. Project Albert is seeking pro-active volunteers who don't necessarily need special skills. What you will need is dedication, a sense of adventure and a desire to make a difference. |
