CHILDREN in an African orphanage are to receive expert treatment from two members of staff from a Peebles dental practice.

Sara Gilmer and her colleague Carolina Landivar, from the Rosalind Kerr Dental Surgery will be making the trip to the village of Nyumbani, in Nairobi next week – hoping to change the lives of the children there.

Nyumbani Children's Home is a refuge for HIV/AIDS-affected children in rural Kenya. And Sara, who lives in Cardrona, was inspired by a volunteering excursion to the village with the Round Table five years ago, and wanted to return to help in a way that many other volunteers can't.

"When I was there, I noticed they hadn’t had much in the way of dental treatment so I decided I’d like to go back to help them,” said the mother-of-two.

"I just needed to find someone to go with me and Carolina agreed to come along.

"The nearest dentist for the children is a six hour drive away and they wouldn't visit unless they were in serious pain. We want to be able to prevent them developing dental health problems by treating them before it gets serious, and teaching them about dental health.

"We're going out there a bit blind and not really knowing what to expect but it definitely won't be my last trip. I hope to leave much of the equipment out here and eventually open up a clinic."

The majority of the 1000 children receiving the exclusive specialist treatment have never seen a dentist, and Sara and Carolina hope to attend them all - aiming to see 100 children a day during the 14 day trip.

The Peebles pair have been fundraising tirelessly for months in order to buy the dental equipment they need to take with them - such as dental mirrors, masks, gloves, syringes, needles, toothpaste and toothbrushes. They have also been receiving donations of clothes, shoes, and bedding that the children would benefit from.

As well as in-practice collections and raffles, they took on physical challenges for their cause and completed the Jedburgh 10k and a half marathon in October to raise funds for the trip.

“It'll be so interesting and really fulfilling to know you're helping these kids who have no access to dental treatment," said Sara. "It's a bit nerve-wracking but very exciting, it always felt like it was so far away and now it's next week - we can't believe it."

With only a week to go the pair are making last minute preparations, and are thrilled to have raised over over £3,000 - surpassing their target of £2,500.

Sara added: "People started donating in April last year, so we're both quite overwhelmed with the amount raised. We'd like to thank everyone who has supported us, not only have people donated money, but some have spent their time knitting clothes and dolls for us to take to the children. Many have donated books and we've had toiletries and bedding handed in also. All our patients have been fantastic."