The Veterinary Christian Fellowship (VCF) is a charity that unites Christian vets across the UK. One of our major functions is to support vets who work as missionaries. There are two situations when a veterinary qualification can be of particular benefit in taking the gospel abroad. One is in countries where people living in poverty can be helped by improving the health of their livestock. The other is witnessing in 'closed' countries, where access to a 'Missionary' would not be permitted, but a professional is welcomed and able to work and witness simultaneously.
The VCF supports missionaries in South and Central America, East Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Their work is very varied and depends on the needs of the people they are helping. It usually involves education on animal health care, starting and supporting animal-based projects, and veterinary treatment of ill animals. In countries where there are no or very few vets, significant improvements can be made to the productivity and longevity of livestock through improved breeding, housing, nutrition and disease prevention such as by vaccination. Local people can be taught these skills, making the improvements sustainable.
In April, my husband and I went to Honduras for two weeks. The purpose of the trip was primarily to gain experience of livestock development as a form of mission because this is something we feel called to do in the future. We also hoped to show God's love to people in need by participating in the work being done there.
Our hosts were a US vet and his wife. They have been in Honduras for seven years. They were asked to help the people of a village to improve the health of their cattle. This village was made up from a group of displaced people. They have been helped to build homes and supply them with running water by various development agencies, but they live at subsistence level. The cattle project was initiated by Heifer Project International (HPI), which gave a heifer to a family or a group of heifers to a group of families called a 'collectiva'. The first heifer calf is returned to HPI so that the project can multiply. Before the vet arrived, there were various health problems due to disease, parasites and poor nutrition. He has implemented regular vaccination and anti-pararsite injections and gives advice to improve nutrition. He also provides veterinary treatment when required. This means fewer losses, which are obviously catastrophic for poor families, as well as improved milk yields and growth rates. They have also helped the villagers to start various other micro-enterprises.
We spent much of our time injecting cattle. This was a challenge as they have no crushes or gates. Each animal had to be lassoed and tied to a post. My husband was kept well occupied keeping records and helping to restrain cattle. I also had the opportunity to calve a cow that was failing to calve, and had the great satisfaction of getting a live bull calf!
"It was incredibly satisfying"
We learnt a huge amount about the benefits of farming to people in poverty. Not only the obvious improvements to their poor diets from the milk and source of income from selling the surplus milk and meat, but also more subtle benefits such as providing a source of motivation, hope of escaping from poverty, and building up of self esteem.
Now we are back at work in the South East of England. The trip highlighted how much we do have in this country, from health care and education to policing and road maintenance. It was incredibly satisfying to be involved in work that improves the lives of people who have very little.
