http://www.sacbee.com/content/travel/story/7915349p-8852991c.html
"Volunteer will talk about trip to Nepal
By Judy Green -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 a.m. PST Sunday, December 7, 2003
In the eyes of Auburn dentist Ed Weiss, trekkers who give candy to children in the Himalayas are not doing them any favors. He discovered during his two volunteer medical vacations in Nepal's mountain villages that the more remote the village, the healthier the villagers' teeth.
...... the journey, which involved nine Westerners, including three other dentists, and 150 porters. Three of the porters each carried 160-pound generators on their backs with a simple head strap for balance. Weiss said the trips involved days of walking and crossing a 13,000-foot pass.
Weiss said the dental team treated about 300 patients, mostly with fillings and extractions. Others in the group rebuilt a mud-and-stone school and gave polio vaccines.
On his second trip to Nepal this fall, Weiss went to villages that are frequented by trekkers. Not only did he find more tooth decay, the children in these villages had become accustomed to handouts, which turned them into beggars.
Weiss, 58, estimated his trip cost him $5,000, which included a donation to Himalayan Health Care, the agency that organizes the treks and maintains clinics."
