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A team of dentists from Gaithersburg will be traveling to sub-Saharan Africa in February to establish dental care for orphaned children in the Nyumbani Children's Home and Nyumbani Village in Nairobi, Kenya.

Dr. Paul Niesen, a general dentist who practices on Russell Avenue in Olde Towne, and Dr. Larry Fields, who recently retired after three decades of general practice in Gaithersburg, will lead the team. The dentists will provide "desperately needed" dental care for 600 children and their caregivers at the Nyumbani Children's Home and Nyumbani Village, Niesen said.

The children's home is an orphanage in Nairobi which cares for 100 HIV-positive children, he said. The Nyumbani Village is a self-sufficient community of more than 400 children and 60 grandparents in Kitui, Kenya, founded in 2006 to re-establish family units and care for individuals whose lives have been ravaged by HIV/AIDS.

A patient had long ago gotten involved with supporting the Nyumbani children, said Niesen, who said his dentistry began sending toothbrushes to Kenya with her about six months ago. Over the last six months, the firm has sent more than 800 toothbrushes.

"What struck me was her statement that in many cases the toothbrush was the first item that the children had ever owned," he said. "I guess at this point I asked her ‘Well, what do these children do if they have a toothache or need emergency dental care?....She just sort of shrugged her shoulders. Her response was that there was no real dental care infrastructure in the village, so that's what we hope to establish."

He and his dental hygienist, Sara Grimes of Germantown began putting plans together for a trip, he said. His team aims to establish a comprehensive dental program that will bring follow-up care to children and grandparents of Nyumbani Village whose dental needs are identified on this pre-screening trip.

His team of six hopes to continue the program with the help of other dentists, hygienists and other dental staff, he said.

To learn more about Nyumbani Children's Home and Nyumbani Village, visit www.nyumbani.org. For more information about the dental mission or to make a donation, e-mail Niesen at nieseoffice@comcast.net.

Veterans Day reflections

Honor those who have served in the U.S. military at a Veterans Day Observance at 11 a.m. Nov. 11, at Gaithersburg City Hall, 31 S. Summit Ave.

Army Lt. Col. Lee Marvin Packnett who was deployed with Multi-National Force — Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from January 2007 to January 2008, will give the keynote address. While deployed in Iraq, Packnett served as the deputy chief of media operations and chief of the media operations center, according to a city statement. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service for his service overseas. After 27 years of service, Packnett says his most rewarding experience was witnessing the decrease in the level of violence while deployed, according to a statement. Packnett, a native of Mississippi, now lives in the Washington, D.C., area with his wife, who is also a soldier, according to a city statement.

At the observance, the City of Gaithersburg will collect items to send overseas with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Adopt-a-Unit program, which sends items to units deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.

On the wish list: powdered drink mixes; Silly String (to detect lasers in a room); cherry-flavored Chapstick; men's undershirts, boxers and briefs; flypaper; cans of salted nuts; travel-size toothbrushes, toothpaste, soaps, shampoos and lotions; Ziploc bags, trail mix, disposable cameras, and AA and AAA batteries.

The VFW will accept cash and check donations for postage and calling cards, which they purchase in bulk at a discounted price. Make checks payable to VFW Post #9862 and note "for troops in Iraq" in the memo field.

Drop off donations at the Nov. 11 Veterans Day Observance or between 4 and 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday at the VFW John M. Carter Post #9862, 211K N. Frederick Ave. (behind the 7-Eleven in the Duvall Center) in Gaithersburg.

For more information on the Veterans Day Observance, call the city parks department at 301-258-6350 or visit www.gaithersburgmd.gov.

Free financial seminar

The Montgomery Village Foundation is hosting a free informational seminar "to discover how an annuity can help you reach your long-term financial goals, such as retirement," said Emily Fields, Lake Marion Center Director.

The free seminar runs from 7 to 8:30 pm. Monday at Stedwick Community Center, 10401 Stedwick Road. Registration is required.

Scott Leishear, a financial advisor with Edward Jones financial services firm "will explain the three types of annuities and what may be right for you," Fields said in an e-mail to The Gazette. "He will provide you with valuable information and answer all your questions."

Call Emily Fields at 301-948-8082 ext. 21 to reserve a space.

Walk for your health

The Montgomery County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. hosts its 1st Healthy Lifestyles 3k Walk Saturday at Bohrer Park at Summit Hall Farm, 506 S. Frederick Ave. in Gaithersburg.

The walk is designed to generate healthy lifestyle awareness, provide an opportunity to disseminate preventative health materials and offer a low-impact exercise alternative. The event will benefit Aunt Hattie's Place Inc., a nonprofit that provides a safe, stable, nurturing and long-term home for abused, abandoned and neglected children in foster care. Proceeds will also benefit the chapter's scholarship fund which supports higher learning aspirations of county youth.

The walk takes place rain or shine. Registration on the day of the walk is 8 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. Fees are $20 for adults, $12 for youth ages six to 14 and college students. Children under six get in free.

For more information or to help support the walk, call Sharon Jackson at 240-491-0275 or e-mail her at fundraising@mcacdst.org. To learn more about Aunt Hattie's Place, visit www.aunthattie.org.

Preparing for a pow-wow

It's National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month and the City of Gaithersburg's Multicultural Affairs Committee is hosting an American Indian Pow-Wow.

At a pow-wow, Native American and non-Native American people meet to dance, sing, socialize and honor American Indian culture. Often, a dancing competition is involved.

Gaithersburg's pow-wow will include a variety of dances narrated with an explanation of how the music connects to the dance and to the culture as a whole, said Gaithersburg Communications Director Britta Monaco in a statement. Representatives of the American Indian and Alaskan Native communities will join the fun. A discussion will follow the performance and light refreshments will be served.

The festivities will take place from 6 to 7:15 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 16, at Casey Community Center, 810 S. Frederick Ave. Following the presentation, the mayor and council and representatives of the American Indian and Alaskan Native communities will head at 7:30 p.m. to City Hall, 31 S. Summit Ave., where the mayor will bestow a proclamation.

RSVP to Shanthi Srinivasachar at ssrinivasachar@gaithersburgmd.gov or call 301-258-6395 ext. 3.

Feather in his cap

Benjamin A. Pontano of Gaithersburg will receive one of Carnegie Mellon University's Alumni Achievement Awards Friday in Pittsburgh, where the university is hosting its Homecoming celebration.

Pontano, who graduated from Carnegie Mellon in 1965, was an undergraduate electrical engineering student when President John F. Kennedy and Congress created the private Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT), said Abby Houck, a university spokeswoman in an e-mail to The Gazette. After completing a Ph.D. at The Pennsylvania State University, Pontano worked for COMSAT Laboratories until 1974, when he began a 10-year stint as manager of communications systems for the International Telecommunication Satellite (INTELSAT) consortium. Pontano returned to COMSAT in 1984 and was named company president in 1996.

Now retired, Pontano is remembered for mentoring young engineers and fostering cultural diversity in the workplace. He was elected a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 2000 and holds several patents on interference measurement and cancellation.

Seniors in action

The Montgomery Village Foundation's Seniors in Action! Program meets Wednesdays through May 19 at Stedwick Community Center, 10401 Stedwick Road. Sessions are from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

"Enjoy table games, pot luck lunches, educational seminars, fun exercise and tennis," says an MVF invitation to the fun.

For more information, call Ed Kallas at 301-948-0110, ext. 338. Registration is $15 for residents and $24 for non-residents October to January or February to May. Annual registration fee is $26 for residents and $45 for non-residents.

Send submissions to Patricia M. Murret via e-mail at pmurret@

gazette.net, fax at 301-670-7183 or mail to The Gaithersburg-Montgomery Village Gazette, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877.