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Fundación Sonrisas and SQM launch wide-reaching dental program in the Tarapacá Region
As part of the Ruta Sonrisas (Road of Smiles) project, over 200 dental appointments were made for children from Huara, Pisagua, and Bajo Soga as part of an initiative that will run through September thanks to a public-private partnership.
Over 200 children received dental care through an agreement signed by SQM, Fundación Sonrisas, and the Municipality of Huara. A total of 26 professionals and over 1 ton of supplies and equipment were deployed through an unprecedented project that will benefit rural towns in the Tarapacá Region. The initiative will run through September of this year.
The activities are part of the “Ruta Sonrisas” program, which was created in 2021 to address the lack of timely access to dental care for children, particularly during the pandemic. The entity decided to address this problem by traveling to areas throughout Chile, an initiative that included this offering of 258 appointments in communities like Huara, Pisagua and Bajo Soga.
Fundación Sonrisas Executive Director Raúl Valdivia says that the entity is proud to lead this social innovation project, which targeted the Tarapacá Region this time thanks to SQM’s commitment, the support received from social leaders and the support of the Municipality of Huara.
“We are deploying a massive amount of resources throughout the country and particularly in this area. Our goal is to make dental health available to children in Pisagua, Bajo Soga, and Huara because they do not have timely access to this type of care. Ruta Sonrisas coordinates with municipalities and companies like SQM that are strongly committed to their territories. This allows us to reach these towns and provide excellent services free of charge,” Valdivia assured us.
SQM’S Head of Community Relations Carolina Guzmán explained, “At SQM, we are happy to generate these alliances with our partner territories and entities, including Fundación Sonrisas and the municipality of Huara, and especially with the local leaders who have become our partners. This project allowed us to successfully provide treatment to children from communities located near our sites as part of an activity aligned with our Sustainability Plan. One of its goals is to improve the quality of life of these communities’ residents and ensure the sustainable development of the territories.”
Acting Mayor of Huara Juan Francisco Retamal attended the signing of the agreement, which will provide follow-up care for the procedures completed. He said that this partnership “meets a need that we have been unable to meet due to the pandemic. Ruta Sonrisas has had a notable impact with successful community involvement, which shows that this is the way to work with the community. We are delighted and grateful to SQM and Fundación Sonrisas for giving us this support.”
Fundación Sonrisas Coordinator Macarena Sierra discussed the work that had been done, noting that, “We have reached a big part of the community, providing full coverage for the youth population in these three towns given the current conditions.” This has been a great contribution to access to dental health, and we hope to continue to strengthen the connections we have created with these communities.”
Edmundo Cáceres, the President of Huara Neighborhood Board 3, also noted that: “This is a very important operation because it focuses on children’s dental health without discriminating on the basis of their economic situation. These partnerships are what rural municipalities need when professionals are scarce. Huara, Pisagua, and Bajo Soga are very thankful to this contribution to the community,” he noted.
Huara neighborhood leader Angélica Tito remarked: “We are grateful to SQM and Fundación Sonrisas for this initiative, which has had a major impact because it addresses a social need in rural communities (i.e. dental health), providing care to children with no strings attached. The response has been overwhelming, with over 200 children receiving dental care, which is quite difficult to access in this area.”
The goal of the initiative is to provide necessary care in order to ensure that children have healthy, pain-free smiles. The project also includes educational tools that help each child and their families develop habits that will help them keep their mouths healthy at home.