We now have a chocolate course for mothers in the slums to learn how to make and sell candy! For some of these women, this is the first job they have had in years. Others work whatever odd hours they can find cleaning, etc. It has been incredible to watch them take ownership over this project. Their work has also served as means of building hope and teaching various life skills.
A major problem that many people encounter in the slums is getting hired for jobs, and part of this is due to dental hygiene. In the slums, a large number of individuals have teeth that are already decayed by childhood or adolescences. This comes from a variety of factors including lack of knowledge on dental health, and lack of the resources to properly care for their teeth. Because of this, rotten teeth (due to decay or drug use) has come to be known as a sign of socio-economic status, and due to the stereotypes around poverty, employers will generally not hire people with bad teeth. For example, one young woman (mid 20s with 3 children) who our outreach directors are putting through nursing school, will not be able to get a job when she graduates unless she gets dentures. In fact, for this reason she was unable to even get a job at McDonalds. As we are exploring further job creation options for these individuals, it has become obvious that dental hygiene (specifically because it is difficult to hide) plays a role in the picture. Therefore, in partnership with the chocolate course, we were able to connect with a local dentist who is helping mold dentures for the women committed to the project. Making chocolate isn’t much good if no one will buy it from you due to something as vein as appearance. Another staff member is currently raising funds to help fill the cavities of many children we work with so that they do not face this same problem when they go to get jobs in the future.