Do or die for Croatian students
Fifteen veterinary students from Croatia visited South Africa recently as
part of the International Veterinary Students Association exchange program.
During their 2 week stay their program included exposure to community
outreach activities. They could not have made a better choice than to
approach the South African Veterinary Association CVC to arrange a visit to
one of the eighteen CVC's in South Africa. Early on a Wednesday morning they
set off to Soshanguve in the Winterveld. Upon arrival at the Loate Police
station, a large number of dogs with their owners were waiting patiently to
see the vet.
Under the guidance of Dr Dave Kenyon and Ronel, his vet nurse wife, the
students quickly had to set up a working station to attend to the almost
eighty dogs that had to be vaccinated, dewormed and dipped. The excitement
of having a hands-on experience in this totally unknown environment, made
them reluctant to return to the Faculty to resume their extensive programme.
The day was sponsored by the South African Veterinary Foundation which
kindly sponsored transport and lunch for the students and the deworming
drugs that were used. By making the students available to assist in one of
the largest CVC's in Gauteng, they also alleviated the burden of a single
veterinarian that services this large community in the northern parts of
Gauteng.
