ADU: Community Outreach at Mercy Chapel

 On January 28th, the African Diaspora United club was invited to speak to the Mercy Chapel Methodist Church.

Afamdi Iwuchukwu (IS25) is a regular member of the church and wanted to bring oral health awareness to this predominantly African church. The presentation was the first of its kind and it intrigued all in attendance. The age group was primarily adults in their 40s and older. Some teenagers were also present. Panashe Gadaga (D27) and Afamdi Iwuchukwu (IS25) began the presentation by demonstrating proper oral hygiene techniques like brushing, flossing, and cleaning the tongue. This brought on many questions from the audience. It was an incredible experience to educate the church members and see their excitement as they learned new information about their oral health. Mariah Flynn (D25) and Wendy Mauti (D25) had an opportunity to explain the caries disease process and show the members how much sugar is in popular soft drinks. There was an audible “gasp” in the room when Diyepriye Ngo (D25) showed everyone how much sugar their favorite drinks had. At the end of the visit, everyone was motivated to seek dental care, improve their oral hygiene, and keep their sugar intake low. ADU members learned how much valuable information they have that they can dispense to those in the community.

ADU cannot wait to keep building their relationship with Mercy Chapel and keep coming back for more interactive sessions.