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Hope Smiles Uganda director Dr. Ryan Shinska talks about some of the important service and training expansions that will come from the new Hope Smiles campus.
 In Uganda, there is a tremendous, and growing need for compassionate dental professionals. In this episode of Hope Transforms we talk about how Hope Smiles is partnering with Uganda Christian University to expand the number of new dentists in the country. Learn about this important partnership and how it will increase access to care for the millions of Ugandans currently living with the pain, shame, and suffering of oral health pain.
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On this episode we are joined by Pastor James Lowe. Pastor James lead Bethel World Outreach Church here in Brentwood, Tennessee. He has been a leader in racial reconciliation efforts in our region, especially in his work leading the recent Prayer Walks in downtown Nashville. 
Pastor James shares some great insight on the importance of being still and hearing from God about the specific role each of us should take in the work to heal our nation. He shares some important truths from the book of Habakkuk about how to prepare ourselves for the reconciliation work that lies ahead.
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The Vision of Hope Smiles is to “Awaken Hearts and Transform Lives through dentistry.”  Our guest today on the Hope Transforms podcast, Katrina Robertson, is a great example of the hope that can come from the new outlook on life that comes with a new smile.
Katrina is a Nashville native with a compelling story of redemption and restoration. After being sexually abused at the age of 11, Katrina spent the better part of the next two decades living on the streets of Nashville as an outcast, a drug addict and a prostitute. At age 22 she became a mother, but because of the life she was living, she was unable to care for her daughter.
After 20 years on the streets and in and out of different treatment facilities, a friend (along with her mother) helped Katrina find her way to Thistle Farms, (www.thistlefarms.org) the place where she ultimately was able to escape the pain and heal her mind, body, and soul.
It was also during this time of personal restoration that she met Gradi Ellis from the Hope Smiles team and began the two-year process to restore her smile. This new smile was important to Katrina, like it is to so many Hope Smiles patients, because it was the way that she could let others truly see the joy in her transformed life.
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In this Zoom-recorded episode of the “Hope Transforms” podcast we continue our look into the racial challenges facing our nation today. Our special guest for this episode is Nashville physician Dr. Herman Williams. Dr. Williams helped launch and serves as the leader of the healthcare advisory practice in BDO’s Nashville office. His experience includes 10 years of previous healthcare consulting and 18 years of hospital operations as a senior physician executive. Herman is the author of a new motivational book called, “CLEAR! Living The Life You Never Dreamed Of.”
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In today’s episode of “Hope Transforms” Nashville icon Papa Joe Bradford shares his personal story and insights into the racial challenges facing our nation today. From his time growing up in a small town in Tennessee during the early years of integration to his work today serving the people in Nashville’s public housing communities, Papa Joe has well-earned wisdom and important context for us all. 
For more than 20 years, Papa Joe Bradford and his wife Denise have tirelessly served the people of Nashville, Tennessee. Their not-for-profit organization “Elijah’s Heart” is focused on showing love and bringing aid to underprivileged children and their families. They provide food to hundreds of inner city families and help bring together all parts of the community, all races, and people of all backgrounds. His life was turned into the move “Unconditional” and he is the author of the book “A Walk of Love.”
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For the better part of the past decade Hope Smiles has been, through clinical care and leadership development, a transformative organization around the world. We have always been committed to serving, engaging with, and transforming the lives of all, regardless of race, background, or ability to pay.
The events of the past few weeks here in the United States related to systemic racial inequality have once again shone an appropriately bright light on these issues facing our nation.
We would like to join many others in advancing the conversation about race and inequality in America. As noted by Gary Bell, our guest on today’s podcast, we must begin to “see through other’s lenses” and fully embrace that we ALL are Children of God.
Gary Bell is an African-American husband, father, and business leader in the Nashville, Tennessee area. He is also a member of the Hope Smiles Board of Directors.
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