December, 2022
We’re proud to say that Vet Treks Foundation has been active in Kenya for six years!
For anyone new to Vet Treks and our history, here’s a quick review. Earlier in my career I was fortunate to become involved with various groups that did spay/neuter work in developing areas of global south countries. Once or twice yearly we traveled to underserved areas to participate in high volume sterilization campaigns. It got me hooked on doing my part to help. It really opened my eyes to the deep suffering of animals that did not have the veterinary care that they needed. I saw the sad and sometimes tragic impact on communities that were overrun with unhealthy stray dogs and cats, including a high incidence of zoonotic diseases (those spread form animals to humans) such as rabies, plague, parasitism, among others.
What I observed over time was that, despite our extreme efforts and the good that we did, we never saw significant improvement in population control or the overall well-being of the local animals. The reproductive rate of animals combined with the lack of adequate sustained effort by local veterinarians or public health officials kept the problem static. We seemed to be spinning our wheels.
I began to see that the only way to achieve sustainable results was to involve, train and empower local veterinarians to continue similar efforts year-around. Thus, the concept of Vet Treks Foundation was born. Our mission: building veterinary capacity in underserved areas through veterinary education and the provision of essential implements of practice to local veterinarians. Our ultimate vision is a planet where all animals have the veterinary care they need, and where the public health and economic benefits of a healthy animal population are realized in all communities.
I explored several countries in need of our services and was fortunate to find interest and a commitment to improvement in Kenya. To date, Vet Treks has conducted five campaigns in cooperation with the Kenyan government and animal welfare organizations, resulting in many animals treated and people assisted in the care of their livestock and pet animals:
- We have vaccinated over 6100 dogs, cats and donkeys
- We have safely sterilized over 600 dogs and cats
- All Vet Treks trainings have been approved by the Kenya Veterinary Board to ensure participants can acquire the mandatory Continuous Professional Development requirements for licensure. To date, 140 veterinarians have received training in surgical standards for safe spay/neuter surgery and in our model for remote area, high volume sterilization campaigns.
- We have donated over $24,000 worth of surgical equipment, medicines and supplies to local veterinarians, so that they might continue to provide these critical services year-around.
Vet Treks teams consist of US-based volunteer veterinarians, technicians and veterinary students who travel with us to Kenya at their own expense to provide the training and support necessary to conduct our campaigns.
We are confident that our efforts, and the ongoing work of Kenyan veterinarians is making a difference in the lives of animals and for the people and communities where those animals live. Now we have an opportunity to expand our services into an area of Northern Kenya that is significantly underserved due to its remote location.
The Northern areas of Kenya are classified as Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) due to the minimal precipitation and high temperatures that does not support crop agriculture. The Northern Kenyan ASALs are home to nomadic communities that wholly rely on livestock for their own sustenance and for economic support of their families.
Specifically, our 2023 campaign will take place in Marsabit County in and around Loiyangalani Town. The town as in other parts of Kenya has seen a recent increase in the number of human rabies cases that demonstrate the need for our services. We have partnered with a private local veterinarian (Dr. Lolokote) and the county public veterinarians as they have asked Vet Treks for assistance in becoming proficient at providing spay/neuter services and in educating the community about rabies.
Leading up to our campaign (planned for October, 2023), we will do survey studies to collect data on the actual number of stray and owned animals, the incidence of bites and rabies, and the level of community knowledge and practice about rabies and prevention. We are providing educational materials to local public health and veterinary workers, who will use those materials to educate the public about rabies and the need for vaccination and sterilization, and to inform them about our upcoming campaign. After the campaign, we’ll continue to collect data, to track the impact of our work. We will donate all our surgical instruments, supplies and medicines to Dr. Lolokote, county vets and private vets who attend the training clinic, so that they are able to continue this work.
We are very excited to be adding this step of data collection to our model, as we anticipate that the results will confirm the essence of our Vet Treks mission: that providing education and the right tools to local veterinarians can lead to sustainable services and positive change in the lives of animals and the communities where they live.
This move to a new area of Kenya is very exciting and provides us an opportunity to make real change in an area of great need. Won’t you please consider making a donation to help us to meet these goals? Better yet, by becoming a regular contributing donor to Vet Treks you can contribute to the long term, sustainable improvement in animal and community health in northern Kenya. To make a donation, Click Here
Happy holidays!
Dr. Lisa McCarthy
Executive Director, Vet Treks Foundation