Good Sports: SMILES FOR HOPE
Smita Borole, a dentist in Knoxville, Tennessee, founded Smiles For Hope in 2016 to help women who had fallen on hard times and didn’t have access to dental care. Borole and her team of volunteers provide free dental services on the first Saturday of every month at the Volunteer Ministry Center in Knoxville. They’ve helped more than 180 women so far, many of them victims of domestic violence.
“It’s amazing how much we take for granted about our smile,” Borole told India-West. “Being able to smile, to show joy, brings back so much self-confidence. We don’t realize how many people don’t smile because they can’t smile.”
The dentist, a founding organizer of the local India Fest celebration, has also provided free dental care to needy people in India.
“I believe my passion for giving comes from being a part of both of these places,” she said, “India that introduced me to the needs of the less fortunate, and America that gave me the courage and strength and ability to help those in need.”
Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.
[Comments? Contributions? Please email us at melvin@melvindurai.com. We welcome jokes, quotes, online clips, and more.]
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