Barbara Ellington, Lifestyle Editor

Joseph Wright (Pappa Joe) has made 40 trips to Jamaica. - photos by Barbara Ellington

To hear him speak patois, you'd think he grew up in any rural district across this fair island, but Joseph Wright, popularly known as Pappa Joe, learnt the dialect by listening to school children in Hanover. Flair spoke with Wright, who was recently in the island as the co-ordinator of a group of 35 dentists and dental professionals who give their time and talents free of cost to citizens every year.

A lovable white guy, Wright has been coming to Jamaica since 1990. At first, his love of music and desire to establish a band brought him here. He hung out in Negril, Westmoreland and when things did not go as planned, he became involved with the charity Great Shape Inc. Founded by a group of American women in 1998, the organisation makes well-needed donations of school supplies after disasters, such as hurricanes, and assists with repairing rural roads.

Significant growth

"In 2003, dentists from Seattle, Washington started the project and today it has grown to become the largest volunteer dental programme in the country," Wright told Flair. The group conducts three two-week sessions in Ocho Rios, St Ann, Montego Bay, St James and Negril in Westmoreland.

They are hosted by the Sandals chain of hotels and provide all the equipment, machinery (that is stored there 'till they return) and supplies free of cost to the patients. By the end of their stay, some 3,000 persons would have received clinical services including extraction's, cleanings, fillings and sealants.

40th trip

"We also see about 10,000 students in schools in the parishes and give them oral health education, toothbrushes and toothpaste," Wright said.

On his 40th trip to Jamaica, he spends anywhere between two weeks and six months at a time, and having lived 'ragamuffin style', he said he is able to speak patois and blend, thus avoiding some of the daily challenges of life in Jamaica.

So would he make a permanent move to Jamaica? Wright said it was possible given the progression of his work, but, for now, he could not achieve what he has without the help of Sandals that gives them over a quarter million dollars in rooms every year. The group returns the favour by conducting free clinics for the hotel's staff in the three locations. In some rural districts, they see up to 300 persons for the day. "There is a great need for dental care in rural areas," Wright said.

Dr Elwood Davidson (Mas Woody) at work on a patient at the Sandals Ocho Rios hotel.