For a decade now, HealthPartners pediatric dentist Paul Musherure has collected hundreds of pounds of dental supplies in his suburban garage, organized a couple of dozen folks from around the country and trekked 8,000 miles to the country of his birth — Uganda — to treat toothaches and other dental problems for kids with HIV.
"We've seen such vast improvement over the 10 years," he said. "In the early years, they were so sick, we were afraid to pull a tooth. But now we've seen orphans walking out of hospice."
This time, the humble dentist from Cottage Grove found himself chuckling when Scott DeLisi, the U.S. ambassador to Uganda, walked into a reception at the clinic near Kampala to honor Musherure's team for its 10 years of service.
"It was hilarious," Musherure said. "He walked in and said, 'I hear there are some Minnesotans around here today ..."
Turns out that DeLisi, a 31-year career diplomat with the State Department, grew up in St. Paul, attending Cretin-Derham Hall High School and the University Minnesota for undergraduate and law degrees.
The faraway Minnesota connection provided a light moment in an otherwise monklike period for Musherure, who emigrated from Africa in 1989 to go to college in Michigan. He moved to Minnesota 14 years ago, jumping at a chance to treat low-income kids at HealthPartners' clinic across the Wabasha Bridge from downtown St. Paul.
Musherure and his wife, Shartsi, have four kids, ages 11, 9, 8 and 5.
"We wanted them to reconnect with their extended families and gain some grounding and understanding" of their Ugandan roots, he said.
