Heather Martin Reporting News

http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/jobs/listings/1447

Position Description:
The Huro Program is a conservation program towards Hoolock Gibbon and other primates in northeast India, by the association SVAA (created in 2006), www.association-svaa.com.

The Program being at its beginning, it meets serious difficulties regarding veterinary subject. The local doctors are incompetent or even dangerous (you could understand it in living there), they possess any sense of suffering, life or death, that cannot be acceptable even if we understand their way of thinking and that this last protect them from a difficult daily life that can be unbearable psychologically (omnipresence of death at each moment, death of child, accidents, suffering…).

In order to situate the situation, the centre of the Program is located in Meghalaya, remote state of northeast India where the first medical structure is not less than 5 hours far by road. The only animal clinic of the biggest city (Tura), killed almost all the animals brought to them because of a wrong diagnose or excessive dose. Second thing, the Indian medicines are either under dosage, either placebo, either worst full of dangerous liquids. India provides many of the generic medicines import in Europe, you will say, but these ones are submit under rigid a control, that is not the case of the ones you find in India. Concerning this problem we will now command all the medicines from Europe or America.

The problem is actually that the Huro Program has any veterinary doctor on place and, even if the equip has certain basis, it cannot replace a doctor. Thus, this is a distress call that we send to you.

The volunteer doctor will be welcomed in a garo (local tribe) family who will assure for him or her accommodation and food, and they speak english (moreover, they are used to « the small habits” of the westerners). The only charge that the Program cannot take is the flight tickets, however, the association Yaboumba (which one the SVAA works in partnership) can eventually take it in charge if the volunteer is really motivated and for a stage of minimum 6 months on place. The volunteer will have to be in good health, vaccinated (rage, tetanos, thyphoid fever…). A young doctor is welcome but if he/she has an experience with primates it would be better (even in zoo), finally, we need someone that keep calm in every situation and has some imagination because all of the equipment is not there. To put it in a nutshell someone motivated.