As part of the Operation School Bell program, volunteer Caroline Williams recounts:
“It seems such a trivial thing – but I was working downstairs with a little boy and I was showing him a hygiene kit,” Williams said. “I showed him that in this bag we have shampoo and soap and a toothbrush and he looked up at me and said, ‘My own toothbrush? I’ve never had my own toothbrush.’”
The boy told Williams that he had been sharing a toothbrush with his four brothers, so she gave him four more toothbrushes and told him to give one to each of his siblings.
“We take for granted that we have those things,” Williams said. “It’s probably better than not brushing at all, but I can’t imagine five boys sharing one toothbrush.”
