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MSU students volunteer for mission in Haiti
By Katie Timmerman
MSU College of Veterinary Medicine
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- While most people choose to spend their vacations relaxing, a number of Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine students and faculty chose to do volunteer work in Haiti.
Dr. Skip Jack, a professor at MSU-CVM, traveled to Haiti with veterinary students Rachel Mayfield, Megen Cummings, Taylor King and Jessica Wilson as part of Christian Veterinary Missions.
Dr. Kelly Crowdis, the resident missionary for Christian Veterinary Missions, led the team to several villages where they provided assistance to communities still recovering from the 2010 earthquake.
During a four-day period spent in clinics, the team saw more than 1,500 animals, including cattle, horses, dogs, goats, pigs and chickens. Services provided included vaccinations, deworming and saddle sore treatments. The team treated many working animals, which need to be healthy to provide for their owners’ families. The veterinary team also had the opportunity to spay and neuter a number of dogs they encountered.
Jack, who serves as MSU-CVM’s Christian Veterinary Fellowship advisor, said that it is always a pleasure to watch veterinary students grow while serving others.
“It is nice to see their efforts and observe them learning what it means to give of one’s time and talents to those in a developing country,” Jack said.
Student volunteer Wilson said she thinks a lot about her experiences in Haiti and hopes to return someday.
“We learned an incredible amount of hands-on skills and information during that week,” Wilson said. “We touched the lives of many people in Haiti and cared for them by caring for their animals. We helped them by demonstrating understanding, patience, kindness and hard work while caring for their animals, which also happen to be their food sources and sources of income.”
This year, student travel was supported by donations from MSU-CVM alumni Dr. Todd Henderson of Nutramax and Dr. Odie Hughes, a veterinary practitioner in Mississippi. These donations help ease the financial burden on students who want to do international veterinary work.
Contact: Karen Templeton, 662-325-1100
