Guatemala 2024

Dentistry has been great to me! I have met wonderful people as patients and have made lifelong friendships. Not only does it provide a comfortable lifestyle for my family and I, but it also has enabled me to help others and to give back. Once a year, through a charity called Helps International, I travel to Guatemala on a medical mission. On this trip we are accompanied by a group of other dentists, doctors, nurses and many other people who are just there to help. We travel to remote parts of the country where there is no access to traditional healthcare. We set up camp and treat people who come from far and away. Some of these people wait in line for days to be seen, but they have no choice as these volunteer trips are the only care they receive! Our group works long hours (sometimes 16 hours/day) but at the end of the day everyone is looking to do more. Working conditions are basic at most as we do not have equipment and supplies that we are so used to working with, but the joy we see in people’s faces makes it worthwhile.

2024 was a special year for me as I was able to take my 17 year old daughter with me on this trip. She was able to help on the medical side and also to comfort some of the patients who were scared. Seeing someone younger and closer to their own age helped put their mind at ease.

Guatemala

Dr. Mahallati enjoys helping people who can not afford their dental care. He has been volunteering at the WSWA and been helping the “Low Income Workers of Orange County”. Since 2016, Dr. Mahallati has gone to three missions to Guatemala. While in Guatemala, he works with the charity Helps International which provides medical services to people who do not have access to care or who do not have the means to do it. After a long day of work (14 hours), he says that he is rewarded by the smile on people’s face.