This Wakefield vet's mission across the world was 'life-changing'

A Yorkshire vet’s mission to Tanzania saw him working by torchlight and conducting operations on patio furniture,

For Ben Safrany, an advanced practitioner in small animal internal medicine at Paragon Veterinary Referrals in Wakefield, this was his third ‘life-changing’ trip to Tanzania, to help tackle the country’s massive rabies problem.

Ben visited the Meru district for three weeks with the animal welfare charity, Mbwa wa Africa.

Working with others, his job was to sterilise and vaccinate as many animals as possible each day. To do this, he travelled to set up temporary clinics in primary schools, shops and government buildings.

Long days included multiple challenges, such as a lack of available medication and surgical tables.

Mbwa wa Africa is run by Sandra Kliegelhoefer and Jens Fissenebert, on an entirely voluntary basis. It provides free neutering programmes and emergency vet treatment.

Ben said: “Rabies is a huge issue in Tanzania and is predominantly spread by dog or cat bites or scratches. I feel like the work we do is really valuable and makes a difference to the welfare of people and animals. The local staff were amazing, they worked so hard and made us feel really welcome.

“Sometimes we had to improvise the way we diagnose or treat conditions because the diagnostics or medication available were limited. But these felt like challenges rather than problems. We did the best we could with what we had.”

He added: “I’m incredibly lucky to work in a £5 million referral hospital with all the tests and equipment I need. In Tanzania, I was working on patio furniture, with no blood tests, X-rays, ultrasound or gas anaesthetics. I would advise anyone thinking about a similar trip to do it! It really changed my life.”

For more information on the charities, visit https://mbwa-wa-africa.org or www.missionrabies.com.

Rabies challenge: Ben Safrany (back row, third from right) with the Mbwa Wa Africa team in Tanzania