Alumni Voices: 'I saw how emergency dental treatment made a huge difference in refugee camps…'

What attracted you to study at King's?

I did my undergraduate degree in dentistry at Queen Mary University in London. This exposed me to different specialities, and I was interested in specialising in the field of Periodontology.

King’s offered a three-year masters in this area that combined academic and clinical training. King’s is highly ranked and the Periodontology Department, led by Professor Luigi Nibali, is approved by the European Federation of Periodontology.

What’s your favourite memory of King’s?

I spent all of my clinical time at Guy’s Dental Hospital. From time to time, I would visit New Hunt’s House Library which is a sight when the sun is streaming in through the windows and the foliage is growing on Hodgkin Building.

Another aspect I recall with great affection is the inclusive culture. The Department included home students from the UK and international students from the Middle East, south-east Asia and Europe. We all bonded, and formed lots of memories and lifelong friendships. Inclusivity is definitely something that’s baked-in to the culture at King’s.

What’s the key lesson you learned to King’s?

Make use of the resources on your doorstep. I remember discussing my charity work with Professor Jenny Gallagher at King’s. She mentioned she was working with the Entrepreneurship Institute (EI) to create a programme for healthcare students in Malaysia. I was amazed at the work that EI does and I learnt a great deal from them on how to progress the humanitarian projects.

Also, don’t be scared of starting conversations with people you may not know. This gave me the confidence to reach out to people who have supported my work and I’ve built a network from it.

Can tell me about the genesis of the charity, Refugee Crisis Foundation (RCF), that you helped co-found?

In 2015, the image of the lifeless body of a baby called Alan Kurdi washed up on a beach in Turkey moved a lot of people and this is where our journey started. As a community of volunteer dentists from around the UK, we were providing emergency dental treatment to refugees in the camp known as ‘The Jungle’ in Calais, France.

How did you get involved?

I was a dental student at Queen Mary when my clinical tutor asked if I could help the group with interpretation. I speak four languages and most of the refugees were from Afghanistan, my country of origin.

I joined the team for one trip, but I saw how emergency dental treatment made a huge difference there. And that’s how my journey into humanitarian work began…

Can you tell us the work of RCF?

When the camp in Calais was shut down, we moved our operations to Bangladesh. In 2017, there was a military uprising against the Rohingya, who are an ethnic minority of mostly Muslims, in Myanmar. Three quarters of a million Rohingya refugees fled this persecution and arrived in Bangladesh. Bangladesh hosts the world’s largest refugee settlement with more than one million Rohingya. Some 52% of these are children.

RCF is one of the largest oral healthcare providers in the camp. We also provide ear and hearing care services by training local doctors to treat common ear conditions, and we rehabilitate hearing loss for children. In addition to this, we are working to assess learning disabilities of school children and will be designing an educational support tool.

Alongside service provision, we conduct research to assess the burden of disease, design services to address this and evaluate our programmes. Research is an advocacy tool that we use to raise awareness of the plight of the Rohingya.

Where else does RCF work?

Over the last year, I’ve been working on rebuilding dental education in Gaza, in partnership with PalMed Academy, to support the dental schools. And I’m also starting a new project in Afghanistan where we’ll be delivering training to healthcare professionals who are in need of support from the international community.

Can you tell us about your work with the United Nations?

I work closely with the United Nations Refugee Agency in the oral health sector. They support the work we do and help us expand our services in the camps in Bangladesh.

When I was there recently, I met with them to discuss the positive findings from our new pilot program, a school-based toothbrushing, hand washing and oral health screening program. They have committed to helping us upscale this impactful, community-based programme for a population that is now living in a protracted humanitarian crisis.

I understand you also work with King’s to support students in Gaza…

In Gaza, we are supporting the two dental schools, University of Palestine and Al-Azhar University Gaza, to provide clinical training facilities to the students so they can complete their education and graduate. I have organised an event in April where we will have a panel discussion on how the UK can contribute to rebuilding higher education in Gaza.

The Institute of Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience at King’s have helped us by providing a mental health and mindfulness module.

What are your future ambitions for Refugee Crisis Foundation?

As the CEO, one of my priorities is to continue to build local capacity. That’s important because it means resource is in place and committed to that specific area.

I am an advocate for decolonising global health and, to do this, you have to start with supporting the people working on the ground. I have a local team in Bangladesh who are interested in research, and I’ve been supporting them with training, mentorship and opportunities to develop their skills in evidence-based healthcare and humanitarian response.

Finally, what advice would you give to King’s alum aiming to be change-makers?

Make a start. It doesn’t have to be a big project or aim to change the world overnight. But make a start and reach out to people.

Secondly, find a mentor who understands what you're trying to do and has experience in that area. I was lucky with my mentor, Prof David Williams, an expert in global oral health at Queen Mary, and he has guided me in my academic journey in the humanitarian field.

The main thing, though, is to make a start and speak to people.

Learn more about Refugee Crisis Foundation.