Dear Nica Times:
I would like to inform your readers that the McKee Foundation has started an animal community outreach program in Nicaragua. McKee, a U.S. non-profit foundation that focuses on teaching advanced spay/neuter surgical methods to veterinarians in impoverished countries, held the first spay/neuter clinic in Nicaragua on April 16-17.
This first clinic was attended by 13 local veterinarians and a senior vet student. A total of 69 community animals were spayed and neutered.
Following up on this first effort, the McKee Foundation will now schedule a training course in Managua with the goal being to promote a change from a rescue/ shelter model to spay/neuter services and community based care to help solve the problem of homeless pets in Nicaragua.
Organizations that come into underdeveloped nations and run a self-contained model for a few months then pack-up and leave are missing the point.
The key to really make a difference is to share knowledge, tools and funds with the local community, setting reasonable and measurable objectives and promoting sustainable programs that can then be continued to be implemented locally and independently.
Anybody interested in becoming involved with McKee’s community outreach programs in Nicaragua should contact McKee manager Carla Ferraro at Carla@mckeemail.org.
Davide Ulivieri
The McKee Foundation
San José, Costa Rica
