Imvelo Safari Lodges recently brought its full Smile and See Safari back to Matabeleland, Zimbabwe. In a  multinational effort, individuals from Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States, South Africa and Zimbabwe co-ordinated to carry out dental and optometric procedures for local communities.

In past years they had used local clinics or schools and taken over classrooms and offices, but with current COVID-19 restrictions, this time up to 14 huge open-sided marquees were set up at each clinic, each one designated to a specific activity – registration, diagnosis, anaesthesia, sterilisation, pharmaceuticals, optometry, fluorination, and more.

Over the course of the week, the team passed a major milestone at the Mlevu clinic when they treated their 30 000th patient, and their 10 000th optometric patient at the Sipepa clinic received spectacles after having her eyes tested.

Also at the Sipepa clinic, a 93-year-old man had walked two kilometres for a dental problem during which it was noticed he had cataracts. He will be connected with a hospital where his transportation, accommodation and surgical procedure will be funded by Smile and See benefactors.

A key objective for Smile and See is preventative dental care for young people with over 750 children being given fluoride treatments this year.