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RESPECT is earned…
HONESTY is appreciated…
TRUST is gained…
and LOYALTY is returned…
Thereafter we headed over to Onderstepoort campus where the rest of the program took place. The lectures and workshops at Onderstepoort mostly focussed on showcasing the diversity of veterinary medicine in South Africa and I am proud to say that the delegates really took a lot of new knowledge home with them. We divided them into three streams – Production animals, Companion animals and Equines. The delegates got to experience lectures and workshops presented by some of our world-class lecturers from Onderstepoort. The “Human” aspect was brought into the program by lectures about mental health and wellbeing. The last day the delegates got to experience what it’s like to be a rural vet in South Africa when we took them out on a community outreach. The delegates got some hands-on experience by helping out with the vaccination of dogs, cats, cattle and sheep in the different communities as well as educating the owners of these animals on basic animal health care.
Apart from the academic program, we also had some really interesting discussions during our General Assembly. For those who don’t know, the General Assembly is the main governing body of IVSA during which all decisions are made regarding the past, present and future of the organisation (www.ivsa.org). We discussed a number of bylaw amendments, a few policy papers and we also had the privilege of accepting new MO’s from Africa (IVSA Kenya, IVSA Uganda and IVSA Zimbabwe).
Furthermore, during this event I was also appointed as the President-Elect of IVSA. It is such an honour to be granted this opportunity and I am incredibly excited about the road ahead. To me, this is a chance to learn from those who know more than me and teach those who don’t. My goal for this year is to focus on our members and the opportunities that we as an organisation can provide the. IVSA as an organization has had such a tremendous impact in my life up until today and if I can just play a small role in making a difference in someone else’s life, then it will be worth it!
My motto for the year:
Credit : Jen Davis