Introducing Naftal: A Local Hero in the Fight to End Rabies
When asked what you know about Tanzania and why go there, you would be forgiven for thinking of the tourist hot-spots: national parks, abundant wildlife, white sandy beaches and of course Mount Kilimanjaro.
Yet tourism doesn’t even feature as one of the leading industries in a country whose economy is driven by agriculture, fishing, mining, manufacturing and energy. So a natural career path for a native Tanzanian would be far from the likes of being a safari tour leader or even more so, a small-animal veterinarian - which is what Mwba Wa Africa Animal Rescue team paraprofessional, Naftal, is studying and training to become.
Naftal’s love of animals began at a young age
Naftal U. Kaaya grew up in Tengeru, Arusha at his family farm and first discovered his interest in veterinary medicine early, after watching the local vet treating the sick cattle at his family farm. He began his career journey at Arusha college to study and become a veterinary paraprofessional, enabling him to carry out of treatments under the supervision of a qualified veterinary surgeon.
After completing his studies in 2015, Naftal became a volunteer with our Tanzanian partner charity Mbwa Wa Africa Animal Rescue, supporting one of their life-saving anti-rabies spay/neuter and vaccination campaigns.
“During the campaign Naftal proved to be an exceptionally reliable, skilled, and friendly part of the team.” Jens Fissenebert, co-founder of Mbwa-Wa-Africa Animal Rescue.
Naftal’s hard work and determination created such an impression, that the founder of Mbwa Wa Africa, Jens Fissenebert, invited Naftal to assist with all following campaigns and encouraged him to secure a job at a local well established and reputable veterinary clinic Merlino, where he would gain vital experience to support his journey into veterinary medicine.
Naftal is an invaluable member of the Clinic team
Sadly after 5 years working at Merlino veterinary practise, Naftal’s employment came to an abrupt end after the passing of the owner (Dr. Lieve Lynnen), however, with the support of Four Steps to Freedom, Mbwa Wa Africa Rescue was able to open its own self-funding temporary clinic in preparation for the Gongo Centre, giving Jens the opportunity to offer Naftal full time employment.
Since January, Naftal has been hard at work in the clinic, assisting and learning from our volunteer vet team which currently includes veterinarian Nancy Rogge from Wisconsin, USA and UK veterinary nurses Nicole Bottomley from Bishops Stortford and Courtnie Toyer from Glasgow. His workload varies every day - there’s no such thing as a typical ‘day in the life’ of Naftal! - and he has recently taken on responsibility for treating transmissible venereal tumours, providing day-to-day inpatient care and assisting with surgery.
Studying in the Clinic Library with our volunteer vet, Nancy
Naftal continues to help Jens in the vaccination and spay/neuter campaigns, vaccinating against rabies and transporting injured dogs to and from the clinic on the Guta, a recent gift to the clinic funded by donations from Four Steps to Freedom He told us:
“Here at the clinic, we’re educating people about animal welfare, rabies control and how to keep the dogs and cats safe and healthy. I really like that.”
Next year, with Mbwa Wa Africa’ support, Naftal hopes to secure a place at the Sokoini University of Agriculture - the only university in Tanzania teaching veterinary medicine -where he’ll train to become a qualified veterinary surgeon. Jens’ said,
“His relaxed approach combined with his experience makes Naftal so important for our team. We’re lucky to have him with us.”
Naftal: a vital member of our team
By donating to Four Steps to Freedom, you can support Naftal on his journey to become a fully qualified veterinary surgeon with Mbwa Wa Africa.