A Keswick woman is embarking on an errand of mercy to help Middle Eastern refugees on a Greek island.

Mei Glennon, 39, a dental nurse, is giving up her holidays to join teams of medical experts flying into the islands of Samos and Lesvos to help stranded refugees who – among the many other problems they face in life – have dental problems, some very severe.

The mercy mission is being organised by the international dental charity Dentaid.

Mei, who has worked as a dental nurse at the Fitz Park Dental Practice, Keswick, for five years, will be part of the team travelling to the island of Samos for a week beginning on April 2.

Other dentists and nurses from the UK are flying out on similar missions, which started on March 19 and continue until May 21, providing a consistent, rolling programme of medical help for refugees in their thousands who are living in the camps.

Mei, of Latrigg Close, who has applied for other mercy missions to Greece or Morocco in 2018, is concerned at the plight of the refugees fleeing war-torn homelands and who have risked their lives to make perilous sea journeys, often in the hands of opportunist people smugglers and in unsuitable vessels.

Many refugees have perished at sea and the scale of the human disaster has had an increasing impact on Mei and her view of the world.

She was particularly moved by the appeal of a six-year- old New York boy, Alex, to Barack Obama, that a young Syrian refugee be allowed to live with Alex and his family at their home in America.

The former USA president later used the boy’s moving words in a speech.

“When I found out that I could do something through Dentaid I didn’t need to think twice,” Mei said.

“It is good to know that you can do something to help these people, people who are just like us in so many ways, with hopes and dreams, but who find themselves in a desperate situation through no fault of their own, forced to flee their homes. They need all the help they can get.”


Mei Glennon Mei, who is grateful to her employers, Fitz Park Dental practice, for their support, is familiar with making a new start in life as she left her home in China in 2004 for a new beginning in the UK.

She will fly out of London on April 2 to Athens and from there to the Greek island of Samos. Each team will comprise two dentists and two dental nurses but, as yet, Mei is not sure how many teams will be involved.

Of the dental problems facing the refugees, Dentaid’s UK and European Projects Manager, Kerry Crook, said: “There is a desperate need for dental treatment in the camps.

“There are some refugees who can’t eat solid food because their dental pain is so severe, and many more are in urgent need of treatment.

“We have been overwhelmed by the support and generosity of dental professionals who are willing to help people out of pain.

“We need to respond to the dental crisis on Lesvos and Samos where there has been no dental care at all. It will be hard work but volunteers will receive a warm welcome and will be able to use their skills to make a real difference.”

The dental teams will work out of containers that will be utilised as dental surgeries.

Dentaid is sending out medical supplies, portable and disposable equipment and has made arrangements for sterilisation.

The initial work will be more of an emergency nature but hygienists and therapists will join the team in May when Dentaid hopes to expand its work to include oral health education.

Dentaid is working alongside its charity partners, Euro Relief, and the Boat Refugee Foundation who provide food, supplies and shelter for the refugees. The public can make their own contribution to this worthy cause.

Every dentist and dental nurse taking part in the mercy mission is being asked by Dentaid to fund raise £750 to cover the costs of flights, accommodation, transport and also to make a contribution for equipment and medicines.

If you would like to support Mei you can do so by going to mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/mei

Alternatively, fundraising boxes in Keswick are situated in the kiosk at Booths store and also at The White Stuff shop on St John’s Street in the town.