We are excited to introduce our new MDI intern Fenomanana Daniel! Daniel is a brilliant last-year vet student from Madagascar. Thanks to the Women Scientists in Conservation Biology Award from Princeton EEB granted to us through our friend and colleague Malavika Rajeev, Daniel will be able to conduct her thesis on our rabies vaccination, spay and neuter projects in order to obtain her veterinary medicine diploma next year. One of our goals working in Madagascar is veterinary capacity-building. Veterinary training within Madagascar lacks of hands-on experiences, at best is largely theoretical due mainly to financial challenges, so we are really grateful to get this funding to support a Malagasy student in her journey to complete her studies.
A few words from Daniel on why she wanted to become a vet, what she hopes to achieve with the grant and her aspirations moving forward. “The main reason of my choice to become a vet is my love for cats. It all started when I saw my cat dying 10 years ago. My mother unintentionally crushed it and it had a huge hemorrhage. I wanted to do something but did not know what. We were that kind of family who did not spend money to go to the vet. In the end we just let the cat pass away painfully. Since that time, I had decided to follow veterinary studies after high school. I could not imagine such a terrible thing happen again without me taking any action.
Nevertheless, my dream does not stop at being a regular vet. After my thesis, I plan to specialize more in dog and cat surgery. I have always wanted to continue my studies abroad. Not only would I like to do it for myself but also for my country. Madagascar needs up-to-date knowledge in veterinary medicine because not many people know that we can do many things like in human medicine. Consequently, I will make myself a good example in order to encourage the young Malagasy students to become vets. And once I finish my surgical training, I will work in Madagascar to promote its development.
The grant from the Mad Dog Initiative is for me the first step to make my dream come true. I felt grateful when I read my email saying that I have been chosen. In fact, I have not imagined that this opportunity was for me. I have applied many times for some other projects advertised and none of them was positive except this one. So being an MDI intern has already increased my motivation to work harder especially in surgery”
Welcome to the team Daniel!
