NHS Student Reflects On Her Trip To Honduras

By Eliza Hallabeck

Newtown High School student Kaitlin Woodard took a special trip to Honduras in February when she joined in a Ridgefield dentist’s annual journey to bring dental hygiene to the area.

“Initially it was just for experience,” Kaitlin said while visiting The Newtown Bee on Monday, March 16.

She said it was an opportunity for her to see the world, and since returning from her trip she has started to save money up for another trip next year. Randall Baldwin’s dental group has been making the trip annually to San Marcos for years, Kaitlin said.

“You just get connected with the people so fast,” she said, “and it was really cool.”

Kaitlin said she learned of the opportunity through her friend Eden Wen, whose mother, Winnsa, works with Dr Baldwin. It was the first trip for all three women.

“I was a volunteer,” Kaitlin said. She added that she and Eden helped by disinfecting the cleaning utensils.

The group “mostly did extractions,” she said, but it also taught students how to brush their teeth, gave out fluoride and provided supplies to a health care center.

“Eden and I just mostly cleaned the bloody tools,” Kaitlin said, and added that the tools had to be sterilized before they could be used again.

Before leaving for the trip, Kaitlin said she and Eden had been looking forward to it.

“Eden had been counting down for 180 days, or something,” Kaitlin said. “She was very excited.”

Once they arrived, Kaitlin said the weather was much different from Newtown.

“It was warm, and we thought it was much warmer. Because we were used to this weather,” said Kaitlin.

On the way to the first destination, San Marcus, Kaitlin said they “were joking around, because we thought we were in Jurassic Park for a while.”

Kaitlin said she, Eden and Winnsa were together a lot during the trip, and the residents in the area were welcoming.

“They were all so sweet and very excited to see you,” Kaitlin said.

Kaitlin said she and the group went into people’s homes, and they were always hospitable.

“They are so happy and content with the way they live,” said Kaitlin, adding that there is no electricity in the area. There was one porcelain toilet in the town, and water had to be brought in to use it. To shower the group had to wash their hair with water from what Kaitlin likened to a horse trough.

“They look forward to our trips,” said Kaitlin, “because, like I said, it is the only outreach they get.”