Laura Bourque, AVC Class of 2013, learned first-hand this summer about the challenges facing dairy farmers in rural Kenya.

She spent the past three months, providing veterinary care and extension to smallholder dairy farmers living in poverty. Laura was part of a team led by Dr. John VanLeeuwen of AVC and Dr. George Gitau of the Nairobi Veterinary College. The team investigates the effectiveness of various drugs used to treat gastrointestinal parasites in dairy cattle and the epidemiology of the parasites. They also tested new low-cost technology for categorizing types of mastitis into those needing and not needing treatment. Also involved were OVC student Vionna Kwan and Kenyan graduate students Wewaru Kabaka, and Royford Bundi. The project was supported by AVC, Farmers Helping Farmers, the World Veterinary Congress Foundation, and Vets without Borders Canada.