VN October 2020

Vetnuus |Oktober 2020 2 However, nothing can replace a real face-to-face meeting in terms of interaction and participation, especially in the case of a larger meeting like our SAVA Federal Council gathering. We therefore decided to conduct our October Board of Directors, AGM and FedCo meeting in a hybrid format. Those that wish to attend in person at VetHouse could do so, while those who wished to attend in a virtual capacity were catered for technologically as we set up the Boardroom for the hybrid meetings. It will also be great to see one another in person! In Ephesians chapter 4, verses 11-13 and 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 13-28 the Apostle Paul writes that each member of the Body of Christ as the Church has different functions and gifts. As each member performs their role as part of the greater body, the Church can grow and flourish. It is only by working in unity that it`s true potential can be realised. I believe that this philosophy also applies to society in general and the veterinary profession in particular. We have seen several instances recently where, with different sectors of the veterinary profession collaborating, we have been able to achieve much. In the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, SAVA liaised extensively with the DALRRD and the SAVC to create guidelines that were in keeping with the government lockdown regulations. SAVC president Dr Alfred Kgasi and I were in regular communication with the dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Science, Prof Vinny Naidoo, as well as other leaders at Onderstepoort, to assist with the functioning of the OVAH and the return of students after lockdown. The SAVA/SAVC combined mentorship programme to assist the CCS vets employed by the Department is another prime example of excellent collaboration. As discussed previously, as our funding from HWSETA increases, we intend to extend the mentorship programme backward to include the last few years of students and forwards to the first few years of practice. Further great news is that I have sourced a psychologist who trains therapists. He will assist us by training the mentors in counselling the mentees. He also used to moderate the Rhodes University Crisis Hotline. SAVA FinCo has approved a budget for him to also train the colleagues who man the SAVA Crisis Hotline. September saw a highly successful rabies vaccination and education drive. The #RabiesEndsNow campaign saw the SAVC and DALRRD collaborating with SAVA, the BVF, VNASA and pharmaceutical companies. We must again thank SAVA board member Dr David Gerber and Dale Parrish of V-Tech for organising Katya of Mala Media to assist SAVA with media exposure. Katya was able to organise radio interviews and press releases to get the #RabiesEndsNow message out to the public. We look forward to further successful collaborations within our profession and the animal health industry. SAVA board member, BVF president and NAHF chair Dr Ziyanda Majokweni is meeting with the SAVA groups and branches to facilitate more veterinary input on technical matters at the Animal Health forum. Ziyanda, SAVA MD Gert Steyn, the BVF and I continue to engage on unifying the veterinary profession. Yours in unity, harmony, and love. v Leon From the President Dear Colleagues, Leon de Bruyn Eventually our National President has announced that we are down to Level 1 of the COVID-19 lockdown and hopefully our country will return to a semblance of normality, although as mentioned previously, our world is unlikely to return to how it was before the corona virus pandemic and we will be dealing with “The New Normal”. COVID-19 has changed how we live, work, learn, meet, and travel. SAVA has certainly saved a considerable amount in travel expenses and technology has allowed us to successfully meet virtually. Zoom has been a revelation for most of us.