Week 3 FHF Kenya Adventure
A new week is upon us! We have quite a few seminars to do this week and a likely just as many sick animal calls to respond to. Unfortunately the University of Nairobi vet students are writ ting exams and unable to join us this week. We will definitely miss their company and experience.
This snap shot is one I caught of the gang after a deworming a cow and calf at a local shamba. This picture illustrates the degree of cooperation between farmers, an Animal Health Technologist, a board member,employee and chair of Gakindu Dairy, and of course the vet team! This was a really great day - in fact one of my favourites in Kenya. We toured the Chairman's' farm that was intending as a demo for local farmers. Our seminar was attended by very inquisitive farmers with great questions. Afterwards we dewormed a few animals and had a Fanta in the shade of a few banana trees.
Later the same week we examined a cow that had chewed and or consumed half of a D battery. Much to our dismay D batteries are a common sighting on shambas! Weird huh? The cow was treated and will hopefully be okay. Also, we got to perform a post mortem exam on a buck (goat) with a local vet. The cause of death was apparent but a definite diagnosis of the underlying disease was not attainable so this case will remain an x-file.
Our visit to Nairobi on Thursday was a highlight of the week. We visited the University of Nairobi to see the facilities and hang out with our new friends one last time before flying out tomorrow. The Nairobi vet students are very proud of their school and gave an excellent tour. Erika had a scare on the drive to Nairobi. If she doesn't write about it in her week three blog I will have to post it later this week. Stay tuned for more information...
Week three is a bitter sweet one for all of us at the chairman's' house in Ishimara. It was more difficult than expected to say goodbye to our friends we have made here. I enjoyed getting to know more about my travel buddies and took full advantage of their good sense of humor over the past three weeks. The vet component of the FHF team has accomplished a lot here and at the same time it feels like there is so much more to do and we need more time! A large thank-you is in order for the hard working and organized active members of FHF. I really enjoyed participating in the ongoing FHF dairy project in Kenya. Also for the opportunity to experience first hand the positive impacts of such projects on the day to day lives of Kenyans. I wish that every student had the opportunity to participate in an international project like this one. Walking away from a project I feel like I have had the chance to learn/apply technical and communication skills integral to the workplace in any country. Thank you for everything! Sincerely,
Erin Ramsay
It will be a shock to our systems to go back to Canadian winter after three weeks of gorgeous weather here in Kenya. I am confident we will be fine!
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