Dental Outreach organized by the Rotary Club of Kota Kinabalu at SMK Sepulut on 16 July 2017
Sepulut is a remote rural area in the southern part of Sabah, located in Nabawan district, bordering Kalimantan, Indonesia. It is 109 km away from Keningau on the highway to Tawau.
Residents in this area belong mostly to the Murut community and are mainly subsistence farmers. SMK Sepulut, a residential school with hostel facility is the secondary school education hub for the entire area. Located in a picturesque valley ringed by green hills, it was the venue for this community project. The Dental Outreach was organized by the Rotary Club of Kota Kinabalu in response to the request made by residents of the area to the Club during the Medical Outreach held in November last year at the same venue. Four dentists and three support staff from Klinik Pergigian, Keningau led by Dr Afzan Balqis participated in the Outreach that lasted five hours from 10am to 3pm at the SMK Sepulut.
Team of 12 Rotarians led by President Dr Ravi – Past District Governors Datuk George Ginibun, Edward Sung Burongoh, Datuk Zainie Abdul Aucasa, Past Presidents Patrick Chin, Robert Lai, Christopher Liew, George Ng, Emily Chong and Iskandar Ahmad, President Elect Philip Koh and Rotarian Paul Thien and two spouses Mrs Margaret Chin and Mrs Sarifa Iskandar helped organize the transport from Keningau, sponsor dental medications and supplies and arrange food and refreshments.
Seventy eight patients underwent tooth extraction and other dental treatments. On hand to assist the Rotarians and the dental team were the Head Master En Osman Aganduk, Teacher Advisers Joel and Claudia and student volunteers. A team of Rotaractors (Youth wing of Rotary) from Singapore, many of them nursing students, also assisted the dental team. The Club President also donated ten years’ issues of National Geographic and 45 books gifted by Datuk CL Chan of Natural History Publications, Kota Kinabalu to the Library of SMK Sepulut.
