What an unbelievable August it’s been – we have a huge number of projects going on now and this is what it’s all about! We’re committed to making as large and positive an impact as humanly possible in each area but it only happens because of you. Parcels and Teams A whopping 73 parcels were sent out this month, totalling a value of £45,626.28. Each one of these parcels has a huge impact and it’s been great to see the supplies in use.
We’ve run three courses in Ooty, two courses in Goa and one surgical training course and one outreach programme in Thailand, giving a host of new vet students the chance to improve their practical skills. Expert teams have ventured across the globe, with vets and vet nurses travelling to Uganda, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malawi, Tanzania, Grenada, Armenia, India and Romania to help animals in need! Ooty There’s been some phenomenal work across the board by the WVS India team, made possible thanks to the Sir Peter O’Sullevan Trust, WTG and The Marchig Trust. We have been powering forward with working equine work in India and a massive thanks to both our sponsors and supporters like you for backing this important project.
Goa The monsoons have continued to bring challenges for the team at the Hicks, but they still managed to complete over 800 birth control surgeries. The team also took part in a sponsored run to celebrate India’s Independence Day – raising vital funds for WVS in the process. Thailand The team headed over to Myanmar to finalise plans for our next sterilisation project that we are going to be launching there - hugely exciting on multiple fronts! We’re very thankful to CDC who visited the ITC and spent two days with the team to improve our methods during outreach programmes and rabies campaigns in the region. It was a great honour for us to host them and we look forward to building relationships as projects evolve. Malawi
There’s been some spectacular rescues at the Blantyre SPCA and Dagmar is now busy preparing for our first project in Mafia Island, taking place this September. Tanzania The first working donkey project in Tanzania has been a huge success with over 30 local vets and vet assistants taking part to learn more about the health and welfare of these animals. It’s developing well and we look forward to the next equine camp in October. With huge thanks to the team and everyone involved but crucially, a massive thank you to The Olsen Trust, The Marchig Trust and The Sir Peter O’Sullevan Trust for making this project happen – the potential for this to grow in a sustainable and impactful way is huge! Other news The Young Vets summer activity days were absolutely knockout and a huge thanks to all the brilliant staff and volunteers who helped out to make it such a success. There’s lots of budding vets in the local area and further afield, so it’s great to have them on board as keen supporters of the charities! We’ve had the pleasure of hosting Dr Balaji, one of our Indian vets based in Ooty, these last few weeks. It’s been his first trip to the UK and he has been fantastic company, supporting Pilgrims Vets, WVS HQ and the big Young Vets Activity day! He also gave me some handy pointers on driving a tuk tuk which has been super useful! Check out the Mission Rabies tuk tuk challenge for more on this one! Fran, our new Director of Working Animals, has already completed two trips driving forward the large animal work within WVS – one to Ethiopia to help the donkeys in the salt mines and one as a disaster emergency response to Mozambique. They’re extremely hardcore trips and we can’t wait to share the reports with you soon!