March 24, 2006

Clu Carradine

C/o The Santa Barbara Independent

Letters Editor

Re: Charity begins at home

Dear Ms(?) Carradine,

I have taken a second look at my project, in light of your critical letter, and have decided that you are right, I have been too hasty in abandoning the poor people of America to provide dental care to the Afghans. So I have set up some criteria that I felt are necessary for a person to qualify for free treatment here, and I would invite you to read through them. The categories apply to the majority of people living in Afghanistan. If you can find two categories that apply to you, then I will provide some free treatment for you:

• You have not had a toothbrush for the last thirty years, even though you knew that you would benefit from having one;
• Your children do not have shoes, even though some are teenagers;
• Your husband makes twenty cents a day and is the only person in your extended family of fifteen people who is employed, supporting all fifteen;
• Two of your children are working as laborers in foreign countries and sending home money so that you can survive;
• You have no running water or electricity or other utilities in your house;
• Of your brothers, father, grandfather, or husband, two have been killed in the war;
• You personally have been afflicted by typhoid fever, malaria, cholera, parasitic fly bite, or hepatitis in the last year;
• Two of your children have died at birth;
• You have suffered from multiple abscessed teeth for the last fifteen years but could not obtain dental treatment, antibiotics, or pain medication;
• The homes of half of your family members were destroyed in the war and have not been rebuilt;
• One member of your family has lost both his legs;
• You have never owned an automobile, a cell phone, a toaster, a watch, or a cd player.
• Four our of five of your children feel that life is not worth living;
• Only 30% of your family can read;
• You are not more than 42 years of age; otherwise, you would be dead.
• Your children go to school in one of five shifts that are only 11/2 hours long each, and have no paper to write on, no art supplies, and no musical instruments.

Once you have selected the two categories, please call me to discuss them with me. Then we will provide the free treatment for you.

Please access our website, www.adrpinc.org.

Thank you for your interest.
James G. Rolfe, DDS; Founder
Afghanistan Dental Relief Project, Inc.