About Jody Hardwick:
Jody Hardwick has been working as a registered dental hygienist since 1985. Two grown sons and five grandchildren fill her time outside of work. International travel and the interest in different cultures began as an exchange student to Germany at the age of 14. Her family hosted many exchange students while growing up. Furthering that interest and love of people continued at age 20 with a year of international travel with Up With People, where she met her husband, Jim. “Africa has become my ‘heart place’ to serve, combining my love of cultures and dentistry for this next season in life!”
In this episode, Jim and Jody Hardwick discuss:
- The mission and mishaps of running two back-to-back dental camps in Kenya
- Transforming lives through emergency dental care in underserved communities
- Navigating power outages, language barriers, and hospital limitations
- Why emotional connection matters more than metrics in nonprofit work
- The launch of their upcoming permanent dental clinic in Samburu
Key Takeaways:
- Behind every number is a name, a face, and a story. Statistics may measure impact, but they can’t capture the tears, laughter, and healing that happen one patient at a time.
- Not every act of kindness comes in ideal conditions. When power fails or setups fall short, love, creativity, and community support carry the mission forward.
- A moment of compassion can change a life. Whether it’s a child’s smile restored or a mother choosing to name her baby after a caregiver, real connection creates lasting ripples.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!