Dentist in Indonesia

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 9, Issue 433, 21 April 1992, Page 7

Dentist in Indonesia

Three members of the royal New Zealand Dental Corps spent part of February in Jarkarta lecturing on different aspects of dental care. Captain Susan Church, BDS, the senior dental Officer from Waiouru, joined two other Army dentists for the trip. This scheme was a part of the Mutual

Assistance Programme, sponsored by Defence/MERT, and was the 40th exchange of dental teams between New Zealand and Indonesia since this scheme started in 1973. The aim of the trip was to run courses on various aspects of dentistry. Captain Susan Church Turnpage9

Dentist in Indonesia

Frompage7 said she found the experience interesting and rewarding. "The language barrier was the biggest problem, and apart from one student falling asleep during every lecture, the small percentage who understood English helped others who didn't!" "Indonesian Facilities appeared to be improving at a rapid rate, but the big problem is people can't afford treatment." Captain Church said a less-than-memorable experience was when she had to go on parade during the heat of the day and listen to a 30 minute speech in Indonesian, held on the 17th of every month to celebrate independance. She also found her chicken's foot soup and cow's lip stew

'memorable' and her meal of animal offal and intestines not too memorable! "Jarkarta is an interesting part of the work, but eight million people make it very oppressive." She said the mess accommodation was adequate, once she got used to the noisey house

lizards and cold showers. The hospitality extended by the New Zealand Defence Attache to Indonesia, Col Renton-Green provided relief for all members. Throughout the visit activities were organised each day which allowed time for sightseeing and observing an alternative culture.