To commemorate the achievement of my dream of becoming a licensed veterinarian in Africa, I would like to write about my journey so far. I hope that my experience will be of some help to those who are aiming to study at Kitasato University or to those who are juniors aiming to become veterinarians.
I was a bit of a strange child...from a young age, when I was sad, I would turn to cats and dogs for advice. The first book I read was "The Illustrated Book of African Animals. The first comic book I bought with my own allowance was "My Zoo Diary. When I was in kindergarten, I was asked, "What will you be when you grow up? He was asked in kindergarten, "What will you be when you grow up? I want to be a doctor for lions and elephants in Africa! It may have been the influence of his mother, who wanted him to become a veterinarian, that he could already say "Maasai" and "Ngorongoro National Park" at that time. In high school, I was troubled that my grades were not as high as I would have liked. However, my mother, who was unusually adamant about the profession of veterinarian, excitedly waved around the Kitasato University brochure and said, "Let's go to this veterinarian college! and gave me a push. I will never forget that day (good job, Mom). Thanks to her, I was able to become a veterinarian.
I loved the school culture of Kitasato University, which in any case made students practice everything on their own. Also, the location of Towada City, where the ocean, mountains, ski resorts, and lakes are all within an hour's drive, was perfect for a university student in his early 20s with too much power. It was a good environment where I was able to develop the groundwork for living in Africa. Including the year at the Sagamihara campus, I gained memories and friends for a lifetime, and I truly enjoyed my six years there in a relaxed and enjoyable manner.
After graduation and four years of small animal clinical practice, I had the opportunity to join the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV). This was also triggered by my mother's unsolicited request for information in my name to the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) office, which led me to Malawi in 1999, where I served as a regional veterinarian office manager for two and a half years. In Malawi, I mainly treated small animals and livestock, so I could not treat elephants and lions, which I had longed to do, but it was enough for me to fall in love with Africa for two and a half years. I was bitten by a rabid dog, I got post-natal dew from a cow in my eye and my eye swelled up so much that it popped out, I stuck a needle into myself while giving first aid to a Malawian staff member and was suspected of contracting AIDS, I lost six colleagues at my workplace in two and a half years, and so many other experiences that one could never have enough of them. I lost six colleagues at my workplace over a period of two and a half years. But even now, when I think back on those days, they were full of excitement and fulfillment. Perhaps I was more fascinated by the values of African people and their love for humanity than by animals at that time.
AFTER THAT, I RETURNED TO JAPAN TO ENGAGE IN SMALL ANIMAL CLINICAL PRACTICE, BUT ALL I COULD THINK ABOUT WAS WHEN WOULD I RETURN TO AFRICA? IN 2005, AFTER WORKING IN A VETERINARY HOSPITAL FOR THREE YEARS, I HAD A CHANCE TO GO TO KENYA BECAUSE OF MY EXPERIENCE IN MALAWI. THIS TIME, I WAS OFFERED A POSITION AS A VETERINARIAN ATTACHED TO A WILDLIFE SANCTUARY WHERE I COULD REALLY WORK AS A WILDLIFE DOCTOR, I.E., A LION OR ELEPHANT DOCTOR. IT WAS ONLY FOR A YEAR, BUT IT WAS A BLISSFUL TIME THAT WAS MORE THAN I HAD DREAMED OF WHEN I WAS FIVE YEARS OLD, TREATING LIONS, CHEETAHS, GIRAFFES, HIPPOS, AND CROCODILES, AS WELL AS TAKING CARE OF PROTECTED LION CUBS AND BABY LEOPARDS.... SOMETIMES, IN ORDER TO RESCUE ELEPHANTS INJURED IN POACHING TRAPS, I STAYED IN NATIONAL PARKS FOR DAYS TO SEARCH FOR ELEPHANTS AND REMOVE THE TRAPS BY KNOCKING THEM DOWN WITH A TRANQUILIZER GUN, OR SHOOT A CERTAIN NUMBER OF RHINOS WITH A TRANQUILIZER GUN FROM A HELICOPTER TO KILL THEM AND TRANSPORT THEM TO ANOTHER NATIONAL PARK.... I PARTICIPATED IN CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES THAT RESEMBLED TV PROGRAMS. IT IS QUITE NATURAL THAT I BECAME MORE AND MORE FASCINATED WITH AFRICA THROUGH SUCH EXPERIENCES.
MY EXPERIENCE IN KENYA WAS A DECIDING FACTOR, AND I DECIDED TO PURSUE A MASTER'S DEGREE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI IN 2011 IN ORDER TO OBTAIN A LICENSE TO PRACTICE VETERINARY MEDICINE IN AFRICA. HOWEVER, THINGS DID NOT GO AS SMOOTHLY AS I HAD HOPED, AND BEFORE I COULD FINISH MY MASTER'S PROGRAM, MY SAVINGS RAN OUT, SO I WENT TO UGANDA AS A JICA SPECIALIST. THIS WAS A TURNING POINT FOR ME. IN UGANDA, I BECAME FASCINATED WITH THE WORK OF LIVESTOCK DISEASE CONTROL AND FELL IN LOVE WITH IT. I ALSO HAD A NEW DREAM OF RUNNING A DAIRY FARM IN UGANDA, PERHAPS BECAUSE I KEPT SEEING THE LOCAL PEOPLE'S LOVE OF MILK WHENEVER I TRAVELED TO RURAL AREAS FOR MASTITIS INSPECTIONS, ETC. I ALSO REALIZED THAT I COULD RUN A DAIRY FARM IN UGANDA. IT WAS ALSO AROUND THIS TIME THAT I BEGAN TO THINK THAT I WANTED TO SHOW JAPANESE VETERINARIANS THE TROPICAL DISEASES UNIQUE TO AFRICA THAT I HAD ACTUALLY WITNESSED. THESE EXPERIENCES PROVIDED ME WITH A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO DETERMINE WHETHER KENYA OR UGANDA WAS MORE SUITABLE FOR TESTING MY ABILITIES, AND WHICH COUNTRY WAS BETTER SUITED TO WHAT I WANTED TO DO. AFTER MUCH CONSIDERATION, I CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT UGANDA WOULD BE BETTER SUITED TO BOTH RUNNING A FARM AND OPENING A VETERINARY CLINIC. I CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT UGANDA WOULD BE A BETTER CHOICE FOR ME, WHETHER I WANTED TO RUN A FARM OR OPEN A VETERINARY CLINIC. FROM THERE, I WENT THROUGH MANY DAYS OF TRIAL AND ERROR AND NEGOTIATIONS IN ORDER TO MAKE A LIVING AS A VETERINARIAN IN AFRICA, A PLACE I LOVE. THANKS TO MY EFFORTS, I WAS ABLE TO BECOME THE FIRST JAPANESE VETERINARIAN IN UGANDA IN FEBRUARY 2019. NOW WE ARE GRADUALLY BUYING EQUIPMENT AND MEDICINE, AND ARE GRADUALLY STARTING TO RECEIVE INQUIRIES ABOUT MEDICAL TREATMENT REQUESTS. I ALSO PLAN TO RAISE COWS WITH A UGANDAN FRIEND, AND A COW SHED IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
We are now planning a project that will allow Japanese veterinarians to experience firsthand various malignant overseas infectious diseases that they can only see in textbooks in Japan. In this age of rapid globalization, it is not surprising that these infectious diseases could occur in Japan at any time. We hope to help lay the groundwork for you to be active in such an event. We may have the opportunity to meet you all. I look forward to that time.
