5) Description of health product/service offering: We provide dental health to low income and displaced children living in areas where there is no access to dental services. These children come from the fields of the country, running away from violence. We provide regular cleanings, cavities healings, gum infections and dental higine education, improving people’s health and helping to build a healthier future for our children.

6) Description of innovation: The flexible delivery of services and our strong community support is what makes our project work. We have created a partnership with a net of community organizations. We made an agreement with each organization to share space and resources.

7) Operational model: We focus on two main activities: provide health services and health education. It works this way: The community organization and us, agree on a time when they can schedule a space in their facility for us to provide dental services to those living in that area. Once the date is set, the community organization lets the children know that dental services will be available at that time and creates a list of children that will receive services. Every day, we take our dental chair and equipment and transport it to different remote locations in the city where a community organization has given us temporary space. Every afternoon, we install a temporary dental office and give services to all children that need it in the area.

8) Human resources: The team in the field consists of four dentists, Lida M. Alarcón, Martha Cossio, Pilar Ramirez and Martha López and two dental assistants: Fanny Cecilia Neusa and Gloria Maldonado, as well as Juan David Vasquez our technician

These professionals take turns scheduling their time making the visits with the ambulant dental office.

These four individuals who visits remote parts of the city are supported by the volunteer work of Luis Muñoz the accountant, Francisco Otero General Manager.

9) Key operational partnerships: The key partners: Juan Felipe Neri school, American school, Parish of Our Lady of Loreto. Community Organizations National Police, wealthy schools and few wealthy companies. San Antonio’s Village Mayor’s Office, Chaparral Village Mayor’s office, Viani Mayor’s office Finantial support. Our main partners are friends and relatives who want to support our idea.

10) Financial Sustainability

          • Fees charged to clients?: Yes

          • How do you assure affordability?: Only 35% of our beneficiaries pay for our services. Each one pays $0.45 dollars per dental visit. This funds helps us finance the expenses of the other 65% of children that receive our services.

We charge small companies like Gino Pascalli clothing store and Exito supermarket chain of stores. Wealthy schools like La Salle School and Nuestra señora del Buen Consejo School. Some Kindergardens like John Dewey and My first letters school.

          • Earned incomes as a percentage of operating costs: 100

          • Other funding sources: Our small operation is financial self sustainable, but it is never a profitable operation. We also depend on personal donors to finance our dental visits. Because we want to grow so we can meet the need of a larger number of children, we are searching for additional funds to help the program grow and get additional chairs, medicine and equipment needed.

          • Strategy for long-term sustainability: Our new strategy is to raise funds in two fronts: nationally and internationally. Nationally we are beginning talks with Connexion Colombia, a foundation that raises funds for institutions serving children in Colombia by finding sponsors of children for each organization. We also have few private donors that contribute every year.

We have also organized a campaign applying for funds to organizations such as Genesis Foundation, Paterson Dental Foundation, The Giles Family Foundation, World Dental Relief and others.

11) Current and Future Impact

          • Total number of clients: 6,200

          • Clients in the past year: 2,100

          • Percentage of low-income clients: 90

          • Impact: We have repeat visits in two site: Patio Bonito and the Riviera. He have found that there is a 40% improvement in the dental health of the children. They brosh their teeth more often and consume less suggar and gum. They have the expectation of receiving the dental brosh from us since their parents will not purchase one for them.

          • Overall "market": In Bogota, there are over 25,000 displaced children. Only 15% of these children receive services from any organization or government agency.

This model can be copied and replicated and many countries or regions where there are regions with little o no dental services can benefit from this type of program.

12) Scaling up strategy

          • Stage of the initiative: Scaling Up stage.

          • Expansion plan: Our plan to expand this program includes 15 brigades working in at least 50 towns in Colombia. The program will have 15 stages, each stage will last 2 months. The total lenght of the program is 30 months. Our goal is to assist 25.000 children of many displaced families during this time.

The fundraising plan will be done in two parts. The first part will cover the first 12 month and it has a budget of $ 68,000 dollars. Our budget for a 30 month program is US $ 170.000.

We will need four skillful professional dentists professional people to assist the children during the 15 stages. Two dentists’ assistant Great ability and professional give all the support to the dentists. The technician is responsible for equipment transportation, instalation at the different places. The goal is defined to assist 1600 children every two months in brigades covering 400 children for brigade. To complete this goal it is necessary to establish a work team that is previously described. It is important to stand out that the investment for each brigade is about.

13) Policy change: We are not sure that a policy change will be here soon, this is why we are taking responsibility to create a change in the number of services given to this population.

14) Origin of the initiative: The project was my idea, I am Lida Mireya Alarcón, I’m a children dentist I work with the police institution and I have worked in several brigades here in Bogotá and other towns. The work we do with the police isn’t enough because there is too much need and too little help. So I decided that I could do more and I called some colleagues to help me and I found some good people. Our foundation “Simsa” was born because we needed to get help from people and institutions to continue with our purpose, also we wanted to be known so the local government could help us too but this part has been difficult because there isn’t any budget to help low income people

Contact Information:
Lida  Alarcon
Child Dentist and Program Director
Simsa
(NGO)
Transversal 44 # 100-50 # 403
Colombia
Tel: 57 1 643 2953
Fax: 57 1 314 5090
Email: fundacionsimsa@yahoo.com