Alumim-Nes Harim has resettled the Children’s Home of Shatner, Ukraine. This shelter houses children whose parents are unable to care for them either temporarily or long term due to their financial situation or other issues such as addiction, as well as children who have been removed from their homes by court order. When Russia’s invasion approached the area, Chabad emissaries who run the children’s home immediately worked to get the children living there out to safety in Israel. About 150 refugees are now living in facilities in Nes Harim, beginning to adapt to their new realities, and struggling on multiple levels. Three teen girls are among the first from this group to receive treatment, due to extreme pain. Dalia, her sister Angelica and another girl, Veronica, are among the first to have come to DVI from Nes Harim orphanage for treatment. It is quite clear that these girls have not seen a dentist for years.
Fourteen–year-old Ukrainian refugee in treatment: Dalia tries very hard to communicate directly with everyone, as she had studied Hebrew in the Ukraine. Coming from a divorced family, she, her twin sister and ten-year-old sister were all residents of the Children’s Home in Shatner since her mother was unable to provide for them. One morning when Dalia was outside, “I heard a plane overhead and then the booms started. I was so scared and ran inside, not sure where my sisters were. I ran downstairs, as far below ground level as possible.” As the situation worsened, bus transport was arranged for all of the children and they made it safely to Israel, leaving behind everyone dear to them. “I speak to my mother. She said the ‘booming’ usually begins in the evening where she lives, and then she runs to a cellar behind her building. My father is fighting in the war.” Despite her smile, her anxiety is evident. Some teeth will need to be extracted; others need root canals. Of course, there are cavities to be filled and sealants to be applied.
The girls will get some serious oral hygiene education together with oral hygiene treatments. DVI is doing everything to save as many of their teeth as possible. These youngsters have so much pain in their lives; DVI can alleviate their oral pain and enable them to enjoy the simple pleasures of food once again.