What do a dental technician and a social circus program have in common? They’re working together to bring smiles to children in slums, refugee camps, and orphanages in Kampala, Uganda.

ey’re working together to bring smiles to children in slums, refugee camps, and orphanages in Kampala, Uganda. When Giacomo Babaglioni introduces himself to strangers, “I tell them that I am a smile expert because of my profession. As a dental technician, I am able to give back people smile-building dentures, braces, crowns, and bridges.” A native of Italy, Babaglioni moved to Africa in the 1990s, where he trained dental technicians in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Malawi. During his first African posting, at a dental training center in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, he became acquainted with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, an American service organization that helped the Falusha, or black Jews. The program included a youth circus component, and Babaglioni was inspired by what he saw as a new way to bring smiles to children who needed them. In June, 2010, B...