C-section Uganda style (Team B)

June 16

Today was our first day with Dr. William Mwebembezi, a local veterinarian. When he dropped by the FAOC office to pick us up, we felt like kids at Christmas. He took us to see a cow that was giving birth to a calf with a posterior presentation (butt first if you will) and had to perform a cesarian in the field.


It was a great experience to see how a C-section is done in Uganda and surprisingly it was quite similar to how they are done in Canada. Perhaps the exception is that it was so dark out by the time we were finishing up that the suturing was done by the light of a cell phone! We ended up delivering a nice live bull calf and mom was up on her feet soon after surgery with a suckling calf.

Wielding Machetes (Team B)

June 12

We had quite an eventful day. The morning was spent helping the women of a local parish, Nyamuyanja, build a raised pen for the parish boar, although "help" may be a bit of a stretch. It was quite amusing to see us attempting to wield a machete ("panga") and hack at a branch and then see someone our grandmother's age accomplish the same feat with three strokes of a strong right arm. The women were very kind and made sure we left the field stuffed to the gills with the local cuisine.


In the afternoon, we picked up a load of grass that will be used to thatch the craft shed roof in front of the FAOC office. We must have been quite a sight to see with three giant bundles of grass balanced precariously on the roof of our SUV. We were sent on our way by a giant crowd of laughing children and some how managed to make it home with our cargo intact.

Lost in Translation (Team B)

June 05-10

On our first day at FAOC, we had the pleasure of attending a local parish meeting. The women were very friendly and we were soon learning greetings in the local laungage, "Ryankore", although some with more success than others.


While trying to learn the reply for "Agandi", the local greeting, Jamie misheard Maria saying that "Mbuzi" meant "good' when it really means "goat". Needless to say, there was some confusion and laughs when she used that as a reply.

A day was also spent renovating the craft hut and advertising sign. Everyone in FAOC eventually got involved and our handiwork managed to withstand the heavy thunderstorm that poured down the same night.

Together At Last (Team A & B)

June 4

The first day the entire Global Vets crew got together, we completed the first half of our School Link project. We visited Rustya Primary School in Insingiro district to distribute the soccer balls and school supplies we had brought with us. While it was daunting for these "mzungus" to face an entire school of eager Ugandan school children, we were able to exchange some knowledge about Canada and learn about their school system in return. We plan to return to the school at a later date to pick up the pen pal letters and look forward to exchanging them with a school in Saskatoon, SK, Canada.


In the afternoon we returned to the same area to visit St. John's Secondary School where we had a football match with the school mauraders. Contrary to popular belief, we did not "have our butts kicked" and the battle ending in a draw, 1-1. The students seemed to derive great enjoyment everytime one of us tripped over the ball or field and the evening ended in a general good feeling of camaderie.

FAOC (Team A)

May 10-May 22

We spent 2 weeks at the Foundation for Aids Orphaned Children (FAOC) in Mbarara, which is an organization striving to improve the financial situation for the families of AIDs victims. Vets Without Borders is working in association with FAOC. While we were here, Dr. Kent Weir, Dr. Leanne Macdonald, and Dr. Sarah Stewart were working on the goats/pig pass on project with FAOC. Dr. Weir has been in Mbarara since January, while the other two recent grads arrived in late April. Dr. Judy Hodge, another recent graduate will be joining them in June.

We assisted the vets in fecal sample collection and fecal analysis, assessing parasite load post de-worming in order to determine the effectiveness of the dewormer. We also worked with the ladies of the parishes to repair existing goat pens, plant goat feed, and demonstrate overall teamwork. As well, in cooperation with the villagers, we constructed a large goat pen for an elderly member of one of the parishes.

When we were not working in the field, we did general office maintenance. In preparation for the upcoming craft fair in Mbarara and the craft sale at FAOC, we created a sign for the booth, as well as removing the termite infested thatched roof from the old craft shed.


Overall, FAOC was a good first project for our group as we became acquainted with the African lifestyle, the African hospitality, and the very different African time. We learned bits of the local language and customs, and got to know some of the locals, creating a feeling of a home base here in Africa

Jambo sana! (Team B)

May 10

Tanzanians sure know how to party! From 10pm-4am we could hear the locals having a great time to the tunes of Aqua and Micheal Jackson amongst others at the local bar in Masai camp, the compound we are staying in. After sleeping in late (7:30am) we headed back into Arusha to run a few errands. Apparently everything is closed on Saturdays but we feel more comfortable in the city and even bandied a few Swahili words with the locals.

Here's a sample of what we've learned:

Jambo = how are you?
Asante = thank you
Cho = toilet (always important to know)
Kwaheli = goodbye

Paparazzi (Team B)

May 9 (Team B)

We spent the day in Arusha, walking the 3km from Masai Camp where we are staying to the city centre. We finally know how celebrities like Brangelina and TomKat feel like with a swarm of paparazzi following their every move. We experienced the local "flycatchers", men who follow you and hound you and try to sell you things. They weren't dangerous but let's just say they are very persistent (cough...cough...). It's a very odd feeling going to lunch for 1.5hrs and having the same men waiting for you outside. Maybe they can tell we are "fresh meat" due to our pasty skin ;)

One of the chefs at Masai Camp taught us a few phrases in Swahili that will hopefully help us deter them when we head back into town tomorrow.