On June 26th, a group of our brilliant volunteers visited an Internally Displaced Persons Camp In Bassa, Plateau State, Nigeria, to deliver our very first Brush-Up event!
In these Camps, resources you and I take for granted can be very hard to come by. In particular. children lack access to many of the basic hygiene resources that we use every day. Through our new Brush-Ups programme, NTC provide them with the things they need to look smart, be clean, and feel comfortable in their skin, from cosmetic makeovers and haircuts to clean new clothes to all-important toiletries like sanitary towels, toothbrushes and toothpaste.
We also delivered talks on various aspects of health and hygiene, including dental care. The World Health Organisation has estimated that, globally, 2.3 billion people suffer from dental health diseases such as dental decay and oro dental trauma. It is essential to take good care of teeth; not taking precautions such as brushing twice a day, having a low-sugar diet, and regularly visiting a dentist, may cause risk factors such as dental decay and gum disease, resulting in the loss of teeth. The research available has also indicated an essential link between dental health and lifespan: individuals aged 70 with 20 teeth or more had a higher chance of living longer lives than those with fewer than 20 teeth.
However, according to research, most oral health conditions are preventable with good oral hygiene habits. This is why it’s so important for us to help children learn how to look after their teeth: at our first Brush-Up, we provided the children with toothbrushes, and showed them how to use them.
This is something we’re really proud of; these sorts of provisions are indispensable to the physical and mental wellbeing of the IDP children. With your funding we were able to make a really big difference to their quality of life. We’re currently preparing to run our next Brush-Up very soon!
