PROVO, Utah -- Sitting in a dentist's office with an Afghanistani refugee woman, Kristin Lambert asked her friend what she would do without her teeth.

Her friend's teeth were rotten and painful, the result of a severe beating. They needed to be pulled.

State Medicaid wouldn't pay for dentures, only for the extractions.

"Oh Kris," said Fatima. "I'm just going to drink a lot of milkshakes!"

Lambert, a Brigham Young University graduate in social work speaking recently at a Women in Leadership luncheon in Provo, was taken aback.



Her friend was a torture survivor who had witnessed the slaughter of her children, her husband and her parents before being gang-raped and beaten by local militia.

Left for dead, she eventually crawled out of her home and walked for hundreds of miles to get out of the country and out of danger.

Today, in Salt Lake City as a client of the Utah Health and Human Rights Project, she is being assisted by people like Lambert.

"I worked with women from Afghanistan, some tortured by the Taliban for simply walking in the street without a male escort. Their wrists were burned, fingers broken or cut off," Lambert said. "They have no idea when their birthday is because they are women and women don't matter in Afghan society.

"They have not been allowed to work. They have no education. They've never been on the streets alone. They have to learn to navigate and work and provide for themselves and their children."

Lambert said most of her clients are widows with several young children who surprise her and her co-workers with their needs.

"We have a young Afghani woman go with us to talk with these women and ask questions. Their answers are surprising," Lambert said.

The women are confused about the schools and their children's teachers and activities.

"They'll say: 'What are these conferences with the teachers? How do I help my child with grades?' and 'How do I ride the bus?'"

Lambert said most of the women are excited to learn simple skills, to write their names or to learn a bus route.

"Their individual resiliency is great," she added, referring to "Fatima," who eventually received some dentures from a generous dentist.

"They're stronger than we think."

Lambert said her role is to gain her clients' trust and empower them to make good choices for themselves and their children.

She urged Utah women to see themselves as mentors and friends who could help such women and others -- like teenagers dealing with a stressful world -- to see their options.

Lambert said mentors can make a huge difference.

Salt Lake City has been designated as a refugee city by the United Nations, 35,000 to 40,000 refugees live in the area.

They do not choose Salt Lake City, but work through a process that takes them out of the refugee camps and into American cities for resettling.

Among the refugees there is a huge range of education, knowledge and ability, Lambert said.

E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com