Tom Gram’s Story
Update (August, 09, 2010): In Memoriam: Dr. Tom Grams
As a former Global Citizen Diplomat award winner, I would like to share a story of an incredible man willing to share his skills with those living in difficult areas of the world who are unable to get dental work on their own. Dr. Tom Grams contacted our non-profit, Kids 4 Afghan Kids, several years ago. A successful dentist from Colorado, he wanted to reach out to those in need of dental work who had no access to professional dentists.
Dr. Tom was excited to hear about our work in rural Afghanistan. He offered to finance his trip, if we would work out all the details of his stay at our project. He was one of the first dentists anyone in our mountain village had ever seen. He worked tirelessly to see the men, women, and children of the village. He dressed in ethnic clothing, slept on the floor of our guest house, and ate local food. Our village has no running water and no electricity, so Dr. Tom worked with a generator when he needed electricity and got accustomed to bucket baths. 
He was shocked at the condition of the teeth of most of the villagers. In one of our first conversations during his first visit he wondered if the children ate a lot of sugar - I replied no, their teeth are in such bad condition because of lack of dental care and malnutrition.
Dr. Tom's first trip was for 2 1/2 weeks. He found such an enormous need to help the village that he continued to fund his trips from the US several more times until a few years later the road to the village became to dangerous for him to travel. He has turned his attention to the city of Kabul until it is safe again for him to work in the village. During his time in the village Dr. Tom worked to teach the children how to brush their teeth and worked out a system to use his drills more efficiently given the limited amount of electricity. He spoke to groups about his work in Afghanistan raising funds and organizing dental supplies to take with him. He also collected and transported hundreds of tooth brushes for the village families. A desire grew within him to help the village in ways other than dental care. He also funded a solar panel project to get some electricity into the clinic and classrooms.
Over his many visits he was so kind and culturally sensitive that he gained the trust of the village elders. They passed along acceptance of Dr. Tom to the rest of the village, and eventually the village felt safe to eagerly send women to Dr. Tom's dental clinic. This is truly an enormous accomplishment! In addition to his work in Afghanistan, Dr. Tom has donated his time and expertise to dental work in Nepal and other underdeveloped areas. Again, willingly traveling to rural areas to work with children. Dr.Tom Grams is definitely a Global Citizen!