Australian born Kim Groizardvisited Cambodia on a backpacking holiday a few years ago, and what she saw there inspired her to make a difference. Shortly after returning, she teamed up with the Docklands Rotary Club, who supported her in obtaining two portable solar powered dental chairs from the United States.
During her initial visit to Cambodia,Ms Groizard was saddened by the amount of people living in poverty. She was quoted in Docklands news, “I’ve never cried so much in my life when I saw what poor conditions they were in and that was a wake up moment for me.” Ms Groizard previously worked as a dental assistant and thus was extremely concerned about the oral health of the people of Cambodia. This sparked her to create the charity ‘Solar Smiles,’which she set up to help provide dental care to poverty stricken areas.
Since acquiring the dental chairs the charity has grown massively. Ms Groizardnow has a team of professionals and volunteers who are willing to travel to Cambodia to provide dental treatment, equipment and education to children and adults alike. The charity raises money by selling toothbrushes in the city of Melbourne. This helps to fund their trips and purchase more basic equipment to donate to the Cambodian locals.