HomeMy WebLinkAboutLucknow Sentinel, 2009-03-18, Page 284....i......,,__..
Page 12 - Farm Progress, March 18,2669
Progress has been made; however, guidance still needed
Frompage 11
Seeing the progress
first-hand when he
returned to Tanzania last
November, they still have
a ways to go and need the
guidance.
"We're at the stage
where we need to get the
community to take owner-
ship of the project.
They're so used to stuff
being handed to them," he
said. "This is just the
background for them ; to
improve their farm tech-
nology and poultry pro-
duction. It's a fairly major
education program. It's
not something they'll learn
overnight."
Implementing preventa-
tive medications for the
birds is also part of the
education, as is control-
ling their flocks, which
can be difficult in a com-
munity of about 2,000
people where they make
an average of about $1 a
day.
All of these efforts
began with a program
back in 1988 when he
made contact with the
Tanzania Veterinarian
Association and befriend-
ed Dr. I swege Minga,
who became a close friend
of Thomson and his fami-
ly and was key in making
the proects a reality.
He arranged to collecta
number of old veterinary
journals and transport
them to , Tanzania to help
with their good animal
production.
"It started as a pretty
small 'project," he said.
But with the lack of per-
sonal wealth in Tanzania
and a massive infrastruc-
ture deficit, much more
help was needed.
In 2003 Thomson
toured the country with.
his wife . Cathy and visited
a primary school hi ima:
The school was in des-
perate need, so he com-
mitted to providing 90
P g
desks for the 250 -student
school. He then returned
in 2006 and made a com
mitment to help rebuil
two of the classrooms
which wrapped up las
year.
Before his efforts, non
of the students were abl
to pass the high schoo
entrance exams. But by
2006, 75 per cent of the
students passed and had
the opportunity to move
on to secondary educa-
tion.
This led him to begin
his next project to see a
new secondary school
built in the ward.
"It's pretty exciting for
many of them," he said.
He plans to continue
sharing his expertise with
the community and is
working to spread the
word that more help is
needed in these regions.
from organizations like
Veterinarians Without
Borders, of which he also
sits on the board of direc-
tors.
He said it's critical to
- raise the profile of these
d nations, as it takes so little
, money to make a signifi-
t cant difference to a lot of
people.
e "This is a very .small
part of what goes on out
there," he said, adding the
point is to spread the word
and get more people
involved and contributing.
Thomson was also rec-
ognized for the conununi-
ty contributions he's made
over the years.
He was president and
participated in many other
roles with the Grey -Bruce
Veterinary Association.
He has also volunteered
for over 25 years with the
Bruce County 4-H
Veterinary Club. He has
served on the board : of
directors of the continuing
education group
L 'ifeLearn Inc. and sat on
the complaints committee
t I the College of
Veterinarians of Ontario.
Thomson currently
y
works for Wyeth Animal
e
1
a
V Ii
=wog 'solar
Kincardine veterinarian Dr.
Health of the Guelph
P
area:
The VWB organization
Roger Thomson
focuses onarts of Africa,
a,
Southeast Asia :and Sri
Lanka.
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