UP Vet Books for Africa team returns from donation drive to Zimbabwe and Zambia

Abstract

Eight students from the University of Pretoria (UP) Faculty of Veterinary Science students have completed the first leg of their 2022 donation drive as part of the MTB Petroleum Vet Books for Africa Society. During the winter recess, the group undertook an eventful 4000-kilometre trip from the UP Veterinary Science Faculty at Onderstepoort, outside Pretoria, to Zimbabwe and Zambia to deliver boxes of veterinary textbooks, microscopes, and loads of veterinary supplies to worthy recipients. Vet Books for Africa, a non-profit student-driven society affiliated with UP’s Faculty of Veterinary Science, was established in 1993. Under the banner “Vets on a mission”, the society sets out to distribute textbooks, journals and other veterinary supplies and equipment to veterinary faculties and organisations in various African countries, while also giving participants the chance to lend a hand at veterinary clinics and conservation sanctuaries along the way. Over the years 14 trips have been made, totalling more than 97 000 kilometres, with more than 2 600 books donated to six African universities.