Reconstruction of the dental clinic at Atoifi Adventist Hospital in the Solomon Islands is set to resume.

Work on the dental clinic began in 2016 but was halted due to local issues. A staff house, funded under the project, has already been completed. The current phase of the project will now focus on finishing the dental clinic.

The project is being funded by Dr. Genna Levitch, Australian dentist, and his son-in-law, Tim Edwards. The funds have been channeled through ADRA Australia and will be administered by ADRA Solomon Islands.

Dr. Levitch and builder Wilber Clarke visited Atoifi Hospital recently and will organize a shipping container to be sent from Australia. The container will contain building materials needed to finish the dental clinic, as well as equipment such as dental chairs, compressors, and suction motors.

Alwin Muse, principal of Atoifi School of Nursing, who was on the ground to assist them during their visit, is grateful and excited about the project.

‘’This dental clinic, once completed, will really help us here, especially when we have dental patients for referral to Kilifu and Honiara, which is very expensive for us,” Muse said. “But having this dental clinic opened here will be a huge relief for us and for our student nurse who would like to become a dentist as their profession in the future,” he added.

The dental clinic will feature two dental chairs, a reception area, a staff room, a lab, and a sterilizing room. It will be operated by Atoifi Hospital and will serve residents of the surrounding regions in East Kwaio and other parts of Malaita region.

The original article was published on the South Pacific Division news site, Adventist Record.