Give Naina Back His Smile

If you’ve ever had issues with your teeth, you know the value of a smile. Those hard, pale, enamel-covered dentin and cementum tissues make or break our ability to nourish ourselves through chewing, articulate words, and flash our joy to the world. Thank God for teeth. We take them for granted.

I want to tell you a tooth-related story. It began with COVID, of all things. But it ends with a smile, so hang in there till the end.

I originally procured Abiding Place Farm, in Orlando, Florida, for the purpose of weekend training events. Mike and I only needed a small downstairs apartment, so we used the upstairs for event lodging. For several years we hosted many wonderful events in which small groups ate, lived, and learned together. Then the pandemic hit and our doors closed until further notice.

But my nephew Tim McGuire, who lived here at the time, thought we should rent the rooms out. He welcomed several students, including his friend--a tall, gentle young man named Naina (Nigh-na) Mazava. We loved him instantly.

A native of Tamatave, Madagascar, Naina had made a name for himself as an elite basketball player and candidate for the Madagascar national team. Amazingly, his dream of sports stardom took second place to obtaining an education so that he could return home and help his people. This dedicated young man worked two jobs until he had sufficient funds, then headed to Andrews University to pursue a Master’s degree in International Development. The education would enable him to help young people realize their potential through a social enterprise he’d envisioned called Level Up.

There’s nothing quite as inspiring as a young person with a dream, is there? Except maybe a young person who can smile about his dream.

And that’s the point of the story. Before school went online during the pandemic and Tim invited his Malagasy friend to Orlando where he could be warm for a change (Michigan is freezing!), Naina suffered a court accident that knocked out several of his front teeth. Lacking funds, he got less treatment than he needed. Tragically, decay set in. The long story short is that there is no salvaging this 29-year-old’s natural smile. He needs a full set of implants.

Naina continues to study. He works for SALT (Service and Love Together) Outreach here in Orlando for the homeless population. Essentially a missionary and a foreign student with no extra cash nor ability to finance expensive dental procedures, he will not smile until we help him.

So let’s help him. He has received two quotes so far: One for about $50,000 and one for $36,000. He traveled to Jacksonville, two hours away, for that second quote. We will keep researching options, and perhaps dentists who will volunteer their services, and I will be donating $10,000 of my personal money to this cause. It looks like we will need at least $25,000. What can you give?

Naina has always been a man of strong Seventh-Day-Adventist Christian faith. He has placed his life in God’s hands, and God has placed his smile in our hands. This procedure will give him the confidence to convey his joy in the Lord. Know that your donation to this cause goes far beyond helping one person. You will be helping the thousands of people this young man will influence over the grand arc of his life.

Let’s help Naina get his smile back.