Well, it’s upon us: the last day of the project. Hard to believe how quickly this project has flown by. Despite all of the Covid-related logistical nightmares that Mission Rabies has had to put up with, the project has been a remarkable success, with the vaccine numbers about to exceed last year’s numbers. In fact, Mission Rabies is sending the…
Great day today. We were roaming again, in an area called Singisi. It’s a pretty area, with lots of lush green foliage. Many interesting pathways and homes. Courtnie had to get her pre-flight Covid test this morning, along with several other volunteers who are flying to the UK on Thursday, so I was by myself in the morning. I had…
Our assignment today was to roam in two areas. In the morning, we were covering a new area, and we saw a reasonable amount of dogs and a surprisingly high number of cats. When we set up a static point clinic, the vast majority of the pets are dogs, because they can walk their dogs over relatively easily. People here…
Well, it’s confirmed. Our KLM flight is definitely a no-go. Initially, KLM sent me an email saying that our flight was a Covid-Tested corridor flight and is therefore exempt from the new Netherlands regulations. Now I’ve received an email that said that the first email was sent in error. Our flight is NOT a Covid-Tested corridor flight. It was just…
Today could only be described as exhilarating. We started this first day of our second week with what we thought would be a quick trip to the medical clinic to get my second post-exposure rabies vaccine (I got scratched by a kitten last week). Well, today is Saturday, and the doctor doesn’t arrive until 9:00. We couldn’t wait that…
Last night I packed my bags for the big safari. A towel, some soap and shampoo, contact lens stuff, insect spray, sunscreen, a change of clothes, and my Fujifilm camera (plus extra battery). Headed off to breakfast with my similarly excited colleagues, and then we went out to the parking lot to the safari vehicles, which were already waiting. Nine…
Today marked the last day of the first week of our Mission Rabies Tanzania project. Our assignment today was to go back to an area up in the mountains called Nkoarisambu. A Mission Rabies team had already been there, but the post-vaccine survey revealed that we’d fallen shy of the 70% needed to break the cycle and stop the spread…
Today was my kind of day. We drove around the Moivaro area, announcing through the loudspeaker that we were in the area, vaccinating dogs and cats for free. Then we parked in a residential area and went door to door, meeting people at their homes to vaccinate their pets. This allows us to walk through all the pathways and trails…
The first two days of this Mission Rabies vaccination drive, we worked “static clinics”. We drive to a place, set up our makeshift clinic, and people bring us their dogs. Today, we did “roaming clinics”. We drive through an assigned area announcing that we’re offering free rabies vaccinations to dogs and cats. When we see someone with a dog, we…
Today we were scheduled to vaccinate at two separate sites. We arrived at our first site around 8:15 and set up shop. A minute later, our team leader Lucy received a phone call informing us that a dog had been hit by a motorcycle on the road nearby. Courtnie and I grabbed our supplies and ran up the road, and saw…
Today is Mission Rabies Tanzania Workday 1, the first day we hit the road and start vaccinating. Didn’t sleep great last night. Still getting used to it being so quiet. I’m up early now, so I’ll start this blog post now and finish it tonight. Last night I packed my backpack with all of the items I think I’ll need…
Mediocre night sleeping last night. It takes a little time to get used to a new bed, plus I’ve been drinking tons of water all day to ward off any potential kidney stones; this is something that I’m prone to in hot climates. I guess it’s working, because I got up to pee twice. After the second time I got…
I woke up today with a start when my iPhone alarm went off at 7:00 a.m. I usually awaken on my own around 6:30, but the very long travel day wore me out, and I slept like a zombie. My room was pretty nice. It’s very big and has a huge bed draped with mosquito netting. Had a very nice…
Mike arrived in New York last night. His plane landed at Newark, and he took the train to Penn Station, and then walked to my apartment. He had a memorable flight, mainly because a passenger on his flight fainted in the aisle. Oh, I should mention that the passenger was … him! Apparently, a crappy night’s sleep, a very early…
So, after what seems like an interminable wait, the Mission Rabies Tanzania journey begins. My college buddy, Mike Rosen, is joining me on this trip, and he arrives here in New York in about 8 hours. He’ll stay overnight, and then we both depart from JFK airport tomorrow evening. In these times of Covid-19, planning this trip has been a…