You have made our day

Last September, as World Rabies Day drew ever closer, and the WRD team was receiving more and more emails, we were doing our best to make sure everyone had the information they needed. Then, amidst the frenzy, I received an email that reminded me it was all worth while. It said, “You have made my day.”

GARC had received some funding to help people in African countries print posters for their WRD campaign. It was not very much funding initially, but we knew there was a chance we could attract more in years to come. It had not been an easy planning process, given the size and diversity of the African continent, and we were forced to reduce our help to a relatively small number of partners in a few countries. In some countries, there was more than one applicant, and we knew we needed to spread the resources as far as possible.

The email came from Lesotho, where there were two applicants. One was Dr. Tabitha Seeiso at the Department of Agriculture, who organised rabies awareness campaigns on WRD but had difficulty accessing printed posters. The other was Mr. Bereng, who runs a community group in a remote part of the country, and participates in the International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge. Last year his team managed to educate 15,000 children about the dangers of dog bites, how to prevent them and how to treat animals with respect and responsibility. However, he has difficulty accessing not only posters, but rabies education and resources in general. I tentatively asked Dr. Seeiso if she would be prepared to deliver posters and help to the community group. She said she would be delighted.

Many of the posters were printed in a batch in South Africa and sent out to Lesotho and other countries. Just as the posters were despatched, a major truck-drivers’ strike in South Africa stopped all transport of goods and delayed deliveries. The posters somehow reached the South Africa-Lesotho border, and Dr. Seeiso drove to the border to pick her posters up. Everyone was so resourceful. She then arranged for her department to take posters and outreach to Mr. Bereng’s group in the remoter part of the country, where children and other members of the community took part in the WRD awareness drive.

This year, I again approached the two groups, and asked whether they needed materials. I suggested the community group contact the Department of Agriculture and ask if they would be prepared to help again. “No need,” came the response. The department had already offered to help and share the resources again.

Other groups in countries such as Cameroon and Kenya are also sharing resources, some across departments in a One Health capacity, and some between groups. Thank you all for helping GARC to make our resources go as far as possible by collaborating. So thank you Dr. Seeiso and Mr. Bereng: you have made our day.