nicaragua

World Vets volunteers help hundreds of animals over Spring Break

This past month World Vets had veterinary teams in five different countries providing free veterinary services for animals in need.

We had teams in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Ecuador carrying out high volume sterilization campaigns benefiting underserved populations of dogs and cats.

We also had a team in Honduras facilitating annual health exams and treatments to wildlife and exotic species, in addition to students in Nicaragua taking part in our International Veterinary Medicine (IVM) Program.

See our all of upcoming volunteer opportunities here

 

Custom|Corporate Veterinary Trips with World Vets

World Vets has partnered with Lakefield Veterinary Group to provide their team members with an international experience which allows them to give back and help animals in need. What’s more, this opportunity not only helps to foster their corporate culture of “do the right thing”, it also gives employees the chance to meet and work with other members of the Lakefield “family”.

If you are looking for a similar opportunity where your staff, colleagues and/or team members can give back, please write to trips@worldvets.org


Video Credit: Lakefield Veterinary Group // Filmmaker Matt Charland

Scholarship Announcement | 2018 MD Koenig Veterinary Technology

World Vets is excited to announce the 2018 MD Koenig Veterinary Technology World Vets Scholarship! Veterinary technicians are essential team members in all aspects of veterinary medicine. This scholarship will recognize one outstanding individual by honoring them with a 1 week paid project fee for the World Vets International Veterinary Medicine Training Program (IVM) located in Granada, Nicaragua.

The World Vets IVM Program is designed for students who wish to gain clinical and practical experience and be immersed into international veterinary medicine. Participants receive hands-on instruction in a wide variety of clinical and surgical activities and participate in various field operations such as community outreach, data collection and much more.  More information on IVM can be found by clicking HERE.

The MD Koenig Veterinary Technology World Vets Scholarship opportunity is open to veterinary technician students currently enrolled in a degree program at an AVMA accredited institution or a graduate not exceeding 6 months after successful completion of such program.

Details for the scholarship can be found here: MD Koenig Veterinary Technology World Vets Scholarship Details

Application instructions can be found here: MD Koenig Veterinary Technology World Vets Scholarship Application

The deadline for the MD Koenig Veterinary Technology World Vets Scholarship Application is Wednesday, March 15, 2018.  The recipient will be notified by World Vets no later than April 15th, 2018.

“The confidence in my patient handling, my animal nursing, and my anesthetic monitoring is above and beyond what I hoped to gain from this trip.” ~ Kelsey Wahowiak, 2017 MD Koenig Veterinary Technology World Vets Scholarship recipient

Intern with World Vets in Nicaragua | Summer 2018

World Vets seeks an enthusiastic and hardworking intern who is ready for an adventure! We have an exciting summer internship opportunity based out of our Latin America Veterinary Training Center located in Granada, Nicaragua, as part of our International Veterinary Medicine (IVM) Program. The IVM Program is World Vets student program that provides English speaking international students with an opportunity to gain practical veterinary experience as well as hands on instruction in relation to performing clinical tasks.

As part of this opportunity, the intern will work alongside World Vets staff and volunteers in Nicaragua to aid and assist with the execution of the Summer 2018 IVM Program. More details are provided below.


Tasks & Responsibilities:

– Assist with local logistics and coordination as it pertains to the IVM Program, in addition to providing general animal care. Activities and tasks may consist of the following:

  1. Taking part in animal collection and returning animals to their homes/communities following recovery
  2. Tending to surgical patients post op in recovery; monitoring, grooming, and administration of post op medicines
  3. Taking part in community outreach activities, which provide free veterinary services for dogs, cats and horses in outlying rural communities
  4. When appropriate, helping to prep animal patients for surgery
  5. Miscellaneous administrative/data collection duties

– Act as social coordinator for IVM Program participants while the program is underway. This will consist of the following

  1. Welcoming students/instructors to program housing upon arrival and showing them around the house and to their rooms (and labelling rooms with the names of who will be sleeping where each session)
  2. Being the “go to” person should anyone have any “tourist related” questions in relation to where they can go to do this, where they can go buy that, best places to eat etc.
  3. Getting everyone signed up for an activity prior to the designated free day and getting these activities* lined up (and collecting money for this, if needed)
  4. Take part in the weekly group activity that is scheduled the day after arrivals
  5. When there is free time or during evenings, organize activities or social get-togethers where people can get to know each other, have fun, and experience more of Granada. I.e. rally up people to go out to dinner, to go shopping etc.

*World Vets will have 3 set activities that we offer to coordinate for IVM Program participants

There are also opportunities to participate in ongoing studies and/or conduct research as part of this internship opportunity


Who can Apply?
  • This internship opportunity is open to veterinary technicians, pre-veterinary students, veterinary technician students, as well as those who are pre-med and/or studying nursing. Students with an interest and/or focus in One Health will also be considered.
  • Preference will be given to those who have participated on a past IVM Program session
  • We seek candidates who are able to commit for 10 consecutive weeks from May 26 – August 8, 2018
  • Spanish fluency or conversational Spanish is desired, though not a requirement.

Conditions:
  • This is a non paid internship, but an excellent opportunity to gain experience working in an international setting with a veterinary non-profit, meanwhile helping animals in need.
  • There is a fee associated with this internship opportunity. In exchange for this fee, the following will be provided for the intern; housing for the duration of the internship, airport transfers (on assigned days), ground transportation related to clinic work and veterinary activities, breakfast, lunches on clinic work days, program supplies and full participation in program activities, in addition to a World Vets scrub top and/or gear.
  • What is not provided (and what the intern will need to cover): International airfare, optional excursions/activities, dinner, Nicaraguan tourist visa ($10 USD), travel and/or health insurance, personal equipment necessary for the opportunity (i.e watch, stethoscope, water bottle), incidentals and anything not specifically outlined as included.

If interested, please send a cover letter and copy of your current resume/CV to drsteve@worldvets BEFORE JANUARY 1st, 2018. In the cover letter, please list your full name and any previous World Vets project(s) and/or past IVM Program session(s) you may have participated on and whether you are able to commit for the dates listed.

Disaster Relief for Animals Affected by Tropical Storm Nate

World Vets Nicaraguan staff recently deployed to provide much needed disaster relief and support for animals affected by tropical storm Nate. They have been distributing potable water, dog food as well as providing veterinary attention for animals in need. If you’d like to contribute to our disaster response efforts in Nicaragua, you may do so here

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

 

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.

 

A Facility Serving the Community & Beyond: World Vets Latin America Veterinary Training Center

World Vets has been operating veterinary field service projects in Latin America since 2008. During our time working in this region of the world, we experienced that many local veterinarians and veterinary students with whom we worked had received minimal, if any, surgical instruction and in turn did not perform sterilizations. Meanwhile dog and cat populations ran rampant as the local capacity to de-sex animals, and thus humanely control their reproduction, was limited to non-existent.

To address the gap in veterinary surgical skill, in addition to animal population control efforts, World Vets founded the Latin America Veterinary Training Center (LATC) in 2011. The main objective, and cornerstone of the center, is to provide free surgical instruction and training to Latin American veterinarians and upper level veterinary students. As such, it is our aim to equip trainee participants with the necessary skills and competence they can in turn use to benefit the animals in their own communities. The center also prides itself on teaching as well as practicing high quality veterinary care. Subsequently, the facility is equipped with modern equipment such as central oxygen, pulse oximeters and fluid pumps, as well as an autoclave, ultrasound and microscope.

The LATC is located in Nicaragua and since its inception has established relations with all the veterinary schools in the country. It has even received acknowledgements from such institutions regarding the invaluable skills our training has provided its students. The LATC training program has also developed to the point where weekly sessions are offered year round and we host participants from many Latin American countries such as Mexico, Guatemala and Paraguay. We have also incorporated an ongoing internship program, which allows those selected to obtain greater clinical experience and mentorship.

Furthermore, as a result of the activities at the LATC, World Vets is able to provide thousands of free sterilizations and health treatments every year for local animals in Nicaragua. We operate daily pick ups/drop offs for animals living in outlying rural communities, which make spay/neuter and other needed veterinary services accessible for those who otherwise could not afford it. We even operate outreach clinics in other nearby areas benefiting animals, due to distance, do not have access to the LATC or our pick up/drop off service.

Often times we also encounter unique or emergency cases that require immediate attention. One such animal was Pinta. She had an old wound that had been growing and growing on her left hind leg. Her owners were very concerned but admitted they were not able to afford the transport into the city and the associated veterinary costs. Although challenging to the size of the wound, our LATC team was able to clean the wound of old tissue and close it enough to allow it to heal. After three weeks in our care, Pinta is almost healed and ready to go back to her family! Unfortunately without care, Pinta was unlikely to survive the infection. As Pinta’s case highlights, many local animals benefit greatly from the free services provided at the LATC, not only from spay/neuter but life saving veterinary interventions.

In short, the LATC greatly benefits its immediate community and beyond through the training and mentorship provided to its trainee participants. What’s more, it also provides essential veterinary services for local animals and rural communities who otherwise may never have access to quality veterinary care. If you support capacity building of future and present veterinary professionals, and if you believe that all animals deserve access to skilled veterinary care, we encourage you to support our Latin America Veterinary Training Center! We also accept corporate sponsorships and welcome other partnership opportunities.

donateNow_button
We’d like to thank Fondation Brigitte Bardot for their ongoing support of our Latin America Veterinary Training Center 

One Easy Way to Support the Animals of Granada

For the month of March, we are hosting a fundraiser for the World Vets Latin America Veterinary Training Center. Our center provides free spay and neuter services to the street dogs of Granada Nicaragua while training Latin American veterinarians in proper surgery and anesthesia techniques.

Over the course of 5 years we have successfully performed over 12,000 sterilizations & trained hundreds of Latin American veterinarians and senior vet students. Thanks to your support, this professional training is provided at no cost for trainees.

donateNow_button

We sincerely appreciate your support! All donations to World Vets are tax deductible.

1 2 3 4 5  Scroll to top