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Home > Archive > Jul 19, 2007

Taking Smiles to Honduras
By Dixie Weekly News
Every summer, Lori Vaterlaus, a Santa Clara resident, hops in a plane bound for an exotic destination.
But this philanthropist is not heading out on vacation. Part of an effort known as “Bringing Smiles to Honduras,” she and others from the St. George area, Salt Lake City and other places throughout the country are volunteers, traveling to the Central American country of Honduras to bring joy, supplies and much-needed health care to the residents of that country.
“Going to Honduras was life changing. I came back with better understanding of how to be appreciative of my own life and how to have to the courage to reach out to others,” Vaterlaus said.
“Bringing Smiles to Honduras,” originally called the “Honduras Dental Adventure,” was dedicated to improving dental care and facilities in that country. Now 60 members strong, the group is composed of a few members, such as Vaterlaus, who have medical training, but the majority does not have medical backgrounds, she said. They are simply people united by a common goal of bettering the lives of others.
“Many of the people that go down don't really have any special credentials to do it,” Vaterlaus said. “I happen to be a nurse, but there are a lot of people that just kind of jump in and do whatever they can do when they get down there. I think that's the most impressive thing about all of the people is that they really just say, 'I'll do whatever is needed.'”
Greatly in need of the sort of aid rendered by “Bringing Smiles to Honduras,” Honduras is considered one of the poorest countries in Central America, Vaterlaus said. There is a serious need for quality dental and medical instruments, as she has seen rusted and moldy operating rooms with primitive methods of sterilization and cleanliness.
One hospital Vaterlaus went to was horrifying, she said.
“Things we take for granted here are basically non-existent in that hospital,” she said.
The Honduran government provides very basic medical care, but the dental care is very neglected, she said.
The original “Smiles” group went to Honduras in 2000 and decided they needed to go more frequently to help the people there. Many, such as Vaterlaus, have joined the group, paying their own travel expenses to the country and also footing the bill for transporting the supplies taken. Truckloads of food, toys, hygiene kits, medical supplies and other items have been sent through the efforts of the group.
Facilities have also been built or remodeled and furnished with current, safe dental and medical supplies through the group's efforts. In three years, more than 8,000 people have benefited from the programs this group has established, Vaterlaus said.
The group now goes to Honduras twice a year (in May and at Christmastime) and Vaterlaus goes with them once a year, staying for about two weeks each trip. She spends most of her time in Honduras at an audiology center. A retired dialysis nurse, Vaterlaus had to quickly learn about audiology.
She said the patients they work with most often at the center are children. Some children need hearing aids, which the group has supplied several times at their own expense, but some just need their ears cleaned out. When they have an ear infection that causes a lot of pain, they will shove sticks, leaves and other debris into their ears to try to reduce the pain. Vaterlaus cleans their ears and cares for infections or other problems.
At first, Vaterlaus didn’t expect the audiology clinic to be as important as dental or other medical care, but she said witnessing a child hearing its mother for the first time is amazing, and she looks forward to her trip all year.
The work “Bringing Smiles to Honduras” has done has even inspired many locals to do humanitarian work in their own country. She said some of the dentists at the dental school in Honduras have been inspired to go to remote villages and provide care to the poverty-stricken people.
Her experiences in Honduras have taught Vaterlaus just how much difference a handful of people can make in the world, she said.
“I think so many people sit back and just say, 'Well, there's nothing I can do,' but that's really not true,” she said.

For more information about joining or contributing to “Bringing Smiles to Honduras,” call Lori Vaterlaus at 668-5899.

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