international aid for animal

Help Working Horses! Volunteer on our Equine Welfare Project

In Nicaragua, especially in low income households, horses are heavily relied upon for transportation, whether it be transporting people or raw materials. As a result, horses bear the brunt of much hard labor resulting in wounds, lacerations as well as poor health and malnutrition. To alleviate the hardships they face, World Vets has been providing free veterinary services for the working horse population in Nicaragua for many years.

Our equine welfare project is based in Granada and targets both carriage and cart horses as well as those owned by low income households who cannot afford veterinary care for their horses. Since its inception, we have expanded our reach and now operate mobile clinics in both urban and rural areas as well as other localities within the department of Granada.

The veterinary services that we facilitate at no cost include hoof and dental work, vaccinations, castrations, de-worming and wound treatments. Our main focus has been to improve the comfort and quality of life of working horses, and so we often distribute donated halters, leads and padding to horse owners as well.

If you have been looking for a way to help horses abroad, we have volunteer opportunities available as part of our equine welfare project in Nicaragua. Our next set of mobile outreach clinics are scheduled in December and volunteer positions are still available! Learn more

 

NEW! Introducing the IVM “Field Project”

The International Veterinary Medicine (IVM) Program is World Vets student program that is run out of our of Latin America Veterinary Training Center located in Nicaragua. The IVM Program provides English speaking students with a unique training and cultural experience by providing them an opportunity to gain practical veterinary experience within an international context.

In 2018 we will be adapting the IVM Program to a field project setting. In this way students will receive the same hands on veterinary experience, with guidance and supervision from licensed veterinarians and technicians. However, the location and work conditions will vary. Instead of operating out of a teaching facility, students will work in a non-clinic environment and in turn be exposed to practicing veterinary medicine in a field-clinic setting.

Our upcoming IVM “Field Project” will take place in Utila, Honduras from May 12 – 19, 2018. Project information as well as student and instructor registration will open Fall 2017.


What is the difference between the IVM Program and an IVM “field project”?

Location & Work Conditions

The IVM Program takes place at World Vets Latin America Veterinary Training Center (LATC) located in Granada, Nicaragua. The LATC is a teaching facility equipped with up to date medical, surgical, anesthetic and monitoring equipment.

The IVM “field project” that has been scheduled in 2018 will take place in Utila, Honduras. You will not work in a training facility that is equipped like the LATC. Instead you will work in field clinic conditions where we will operate a fully functional mobile surgery setup and travel with the veterinary supplies needed to provide routine veterinary care.

Week Itinerary & Anticipated Veterinary Work

The itinerary for the IVM field project is styled after our small animal veterinary field projects (see below for typical itinerary). Similar to the IVM Program, three full days will be dedicated to “clinic” and performing spay/neuter surgeries. However, there will not be a community outreach day where you will visit a rural community to provide veterinary services. Instead, you will also tend to health consultations and other potential surgical cases (alongside sterilization services) during the 3-day field clinic. With that being said, students and instructors can expect this to be a strictly small animal project, where horses and/or livestock will not be seen and/or treated.


What is the same between the IVM Program and the IVM “field project”?

A Focus on Teaching, Learning and Practicing

Similar to the IVM Program, the IVM field project will emphasize a high quality, low stress and hands on environment for students to learn and practice new skills. Veterinary students will work with DVM instructors to perform sterilizations and surgical monitoring, meanwhile pre-veterinary and veterinary technology students will work with LVT instructors in patient prep and induction.

Student & Instructor Positions

The positions available on the team roster will be for DVM and LVT instructors as well as veterinary students, pre-veterinary students and veterinary technology students. There will not be positions available for “assistants” and/or those who cannot be classified under the category of student and/or instructor.

Those interested in an instructor position should send a copy of their current license and CV/resume to info@worldvets.org to be considered. Licensed veterinarians and technicians must have at least one year of clinical experience to qualify for an instructor position, however, prior teaching experience is not a prerequisite. This is a low cost volunteer opportunity.

Low Volume

While a regular veterinary field project features high volume spay/neuter services, the IVM style field project will consist of low volume sterilization (up to 30 surgeries a day), which will be condusive to teaching, learning and practicing.


IVM Field Project Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival 

Today marks the official arrival day for the project. Participants will be asked to fly into Juan Manuel Gálvez International Airport*  located on the island of Roatan, Honduras (Airport Code: RTB). Participants will also be asked to arrive by a designated time as the team will then take a ferry ride from Roatan to the island of Utila.

*Volunteers may also fly directly to Utila, however please note that World Vets will not be providing airport transfers from this airport on arrival and departure days. If volunteers fly into/out of Utila, they will be responsible for their own airport transfers.

Day 2: Group Activity & Free Time

The team will take part in a group activity today that will be arranged by World Vets. This is typically a half day activity giving volunteers the opportunity to do their own exploring and/or sightseeing as well.

Day 3: Free Time | Clinic set up & Orientation

Today is set aside for free time and leisure. Volunteers will be responsible for making their own arrangements today for excursions, activities and/or sightseeing.

In the afternoon, World Vets field service veterinarian and a few volunteers will go to the clinic site to set up and prepare for veterinary services. Late afternoon/evening the team will meet up for a brief orientation to go over how things will run over the next three days.

Day 4, 5 & 6: Veterinary Clinic Days

Veterinary services will be provided in a field clinic setting over the next three days. The anticipated work hours are from 8:30 am until 5 pm. Students will work one on one with licensed veterinarians and technicians in patient prep and recovery and to perform sterilizations. They may also take turns rotating through health consultations (dependent on local demand).

Day 7: Free Time & Leisure

Today is set aside for free time and leisure. Volunteers will be responsible for making their own arrangements today for excursions, activities and/or sightseeing.

Day 8: Departure

Today marks the official departure day for the project. Participants will be instructed to schedule their departure flights for the afternoon as the team will need to take a morning ferry back to Roatan.

Organizing a volunteer trip for your group just got easier! 

If you are a student group, veterinary corporation and/or veterinary practice looking to volunteer abroad or provide an international volunteer opportunity for your colleagues, look no further. World Vets is able to provide a custom trip for groups in Nicaragua!

Aside from communicating your interests and objectives, there would be minimal requirements of you in organizing the experience for your group. World Vets will handle in-country logistics, pre-trip planning and all veterinary-related coordination. We will also facilitate all the veterinary supplies and medicines that would be needed.

Here are some examples of recent and/or upcoming custom trips;

World Vets recently welcomed a student group from Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) of Saskatchewan, Canada. We organized a two week program for them that combined clinic with activities out in the field. They received hands on experience in carrying out tasks related to patient prep and monitoring as well as performing sterilizations under the instruction and guidance of World Vets veterinary staff. They even tended to medical consultations during community outreach visits where they worked with both small animals and livestock, and made a visit to a wildlife sanctuary. What’s more, they helped to collect baseline data that will aid World Vets in monitoring and measuring animal health and wellbeing in the Laguna de Apoyo area.

In the coming months we will host a veterinary cooperate group for a one week small animal field project. As part of this trip they will have 3-4 days dedicated to providing veterinary services and 2-3 days for leisure and sightseeing. Veterinary services will be provided in a field setting and incorporate a rabies vaccination campaign in celebration of World Rabies Day (Sept 28). Read more about this trip

To inquire about a custom trip to Nicaragua for your group, please write to trips@worldvets.org

A few special notes:
  • Our custom trip opportunity is currently only offered for/in Nicaragua
  • Scheduling and dates are subject to availability
  • To be eligible for a custom trip, student groups must have a minimum number of 8 -10 people. Veterinary groups must be able to fill up to 15 positions, where at least 5 of which are DVM and 2 are LVT/RVT.

 

Requesting World Vets Veterinary Assistance

World Vets receives requests for veterinary assistance year round from locations all over the world. While we are not able to help everyone, we welcome inquiries and the potential to establish new partnerships for the benefit of animal health and welfare. One of the main ways we are able to assist animals worldwide is by sending veterinary teams to provide free veterinary services. In this way we operate veterinary field service projects that are either classified as small animal, equine or livestock and animal husbandry. Learn more about requesting veterinary assistance here

If you volunteer with or represent an animal welfare organization and are interested in welcoming a World Vets veterinary team to your location, we ask that you first investigate the following things before requesting assistance;

  • Are foreign veterinarians legally permitted to provide veterinary services in your location as a volunteer? For instance, are there any local laws banning veterinarians from other countries in performing surgery or practicing veterinary medicine.
  • If foreign veterinarians are allowed to volunteer their services in your location, are there any requirements for them to provide veterinary services? (i.e. credentials, specific documentation or permissions)

If you are a traveller or tourist, the best way to obtain potential World Vets assistance for a location is to provide our information to a local animal welfare organization operating in the area. Have them reach out to us directly to inquire about potential veterinary assistance. As a standard policy, we do not seek out project partners or work where we are not wanted. As such, in order for us to consider assisting anywhere, we require that a request be generated from within the location in question from a locally based stakeholder.

Special notes
  • Requests for veterinary assistance are only considered for locations outside of North America
  • Requests for assistance that involve the recruitment  of individual veterinarians and/or volunteers for placements with other organizations are not considered
  • World Vets does not plan projects in areas that are at war or have a high threat of terrorist activity. For this reason, we are not able to consider project requests for areas that have major safety concerns and/or travel advisories per the U.S State Department. Specific regions of the world that we are unable to consider for assistance at this time (due to security concerns) include the Middle East, Central Asia and various parts of Africa.

 

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