Ekudvwaleni High School Spay/Neuter Clinic
Report on Ekudvwaleni High School Spay/Neuter Clinic Saturday 25th June 2016.
This clinic was a joint venture between ourselves (SAWS), Vusumnotfo (NGO), Waterford AWARE (Animals Welfare and Rabies Education) and the Swaziland Veterinary Association (SVA).
Preparations started in earnest early in May, with trips to the 2 possible schools to establish the most suitable venue.
Permission was needed from the Umphakatsi (Chiefs council for the area) and once this was in the bag and we had the school Headmaster’s confirmation, the ordering of the drugs went ahead.
During the month preceding the clinic, the Dip tanks and schools in the area were visited by our staff together with a representative of Vusumnotfo (the NGO in whose area this clinic was held) in order to both sensitize, educate and register possible attendees. This process went smoothly and a record number of people registered.
On the Friday preceding the clinic, the SAWS team travelled to the school loaded with operating tables, other equipment and drugs to set up the rooms ready for an early start on Saturday morning.
Late in the afternoon the Waterford AWARE students and teachers arrived, found their overnight accommodation, unpacked and then drove to the school to see where things were and what was expected from them the next day.
Meanwhile, one of the teachers and a Vusumnotfo volunteer had been busy in the very basic kitchen preparing supper for us (around 30), which we all enjoyed and opted for an early night as we would be up with the sparrows the next day.
Saturday dawned cool but dry and after a quick breakfast we were off to the school to set up the registration tables ready for the day’s business.
The 14 SVA Vets and a few more volunteers arrived around 8.00 am and so the day started. We managed to spay 24 and Neuter 29 dog & cats as well as 115 others receiving a medical check, de-wormers, Rabies vaccinations & mange treatment if necessary, as well as treating any other obvious ailments. A good day’s work under quite difficult circumstances. . All of the dogs & cats that were operated on were given a bag of food to assist with the recovery process.
After the last patients had been discharged around 8.00 pm we locked up and returned to Vusumnotfo for a well-earned supper, shower and bed.
Sunday – the clean-up – we returned to the school after a good breakfast and in a couple of hours you would not believe that we had turned 6 class rooms into a makeshift Veterinary Hospital.
We took 2 dogs who needed extra care back home with us to Mbabane, one had pyometra and did not respond well to the surgery and the other had a mammary tumour which needed a to be done in a more controlled environment. Both have recovered well and have been returned to their owners, who are very happy with the results. Then followed the long trek back to our homes.
Altogether about 50 volunteers and Vets came to lend a hand and make a great difference to this community.
Stitch Removal – we returned to the school on Saturday 9th July to remove stitches, give a few vaccinations and hand out more dog and cat food. We were pleased to see that the majority of the operation sites were clean and only a few had pulled out their stitches, as there is no Veterinarian permanently available in this area.
Margaret Dean-Smith
World Animal Day Ambassador, Swaziland