Loving (work-)life in Laos

The centre of Nabong Campus

Now that the field interviews are wrapping up, the team here at Nabong is moving into a planning phase and things are much quieter than during my last update. Taffese and I are preparing the next training workshop for the Primary Animal Health Workers (PAHWs). This will involve refreshing some of the information from the initial training in February and building on this through hands-on practical sessions and interactive discussions.

Over the past few days Taffese has been called out to the field to see a number of disease cases. From goats with wound infections to diarrhea in piglets he’s been providing assistance to the PAHWs. One particularly interesting case was an adult bull whose owner noticed the tongue hanging out and he seemed to be unable to eat. When Taffese went to see it there was pus-like green discharge coming from the mouth and his neck was swollen. He appeared thin and dehydrated from being off feed. While they were unable to get a good look inside, Taffese suspected that there was some sort of foreign body caught in the mouth or throat that was causing infection. He recommended that the bull be put down for humane reasons. Hopefully we will be conducting a post-mortem exam to fully understand the disease process.

Taffese's patient

While Taffese is out getting his hands dirty, I’ve been in the office creating some educational materials that the PAHWs can use during training and as a reference for their practice. It’s really important that we provide tools that will help them to continue learning long after we’re gone. Not quite as glamourous as wrestling buffalo like Taffese but rewarding all the same!

The most striking thing about my experience here is that despite the more laid-back lifestyle in Laos, time is really flying by! I’m almost halfway through my practicum and it still feels like I’ve just landed. I have to admit that I was nervous about being away for 3 months but this is such a beautiful country filled with beautiful people that I think it will be difficult to make the transition back to grad student life in Guelph.

Our home on campus