What is your role with Rabies Free Africa and what attracted you to this role?
My role is to reduce rabies by making sure all dogs and cats are vaccinated. What attracted me to this role is the way I see how rabies affected the lives of livestock and humans, and I wanted to be a part of the project to help communities to reduce rabies.
Why do you feel it is important to eliminate rabies?
Rabies is connected directly with the lives of humans, livestock, and wildlife. By vaccinating in the community, we will be able to reduce rabies.
Can you see the program having an impact in communities or with families?
Yes, in areas where we are doing vaccinations it shows remarkable success because there are few cases of rabies.
What do you, personally, hope to accomplish in your work?
I personally want to do more vaccinations and cover more areas so that by 2030 there will be no more rabies.
Can you share a story about your work?
In 2015, we were doing vaccination in Loliondo district. There was an old man with two dogs who refused to vaccinate his dogs because he believed if you vaccinate a dog it won’t bark. We tried to educate him and pursue him. He agreed to vaccinate one dog. After two months, the dog who was not vaccinated was suffering from rabies and bit a person. The community reported the incidence to the community leader, and the man was instructed by the leaders to pay vaccination costs and all the hospital bills. He contacted us and told us he regrets not vaccinating his dog and he is ready to vaccinate his dogs in the future.
What do you do when you are not working with Rabies Free Tanzania?
My hobby is visiting national parks and taking samples from wildlife.