Hello FML --

I just sent this email out to people who've said they'd donate to the
lab Dr Dawit and I are setting up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Perhaps
others of you will also contribute.

Certainly some folks have already been very generous -- for example
Zoo!

The email originally included a picture of Dr Dawit in his clinic
performing surgery <it's here for you to see, BIG>. [Thanks, though
the server is set to automatically discard all attachments before I
ever see them. BIG]

IF YOU WANT ME TO EMAIL YOU THE PIC, PLUS ANOTHER THAT SHOWS A BIT
MORE OF THE CLINIC, PLS EMAIL ME DIRECTLY.

Here is the letter, w the recipient list erased:

Hello

 --  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

It's Nell, the woman from Ethiopia who's starting the vet lab and
clinic with a local Addis Ababa vet, Dr Dawit Ketema. I'm attaching
a picture of Dr Dawit working in his clinic. He's probably the best
vet in the city -- he's the only vet the US Embassy recommends. With
terribly limited equipment and drugs, he's done a great job with our
dogs and cats, and he is learning about ferrets -- the hard way.

In my next email, I'll attach a description of our project, but here
is a quick summary of our goals for setting up the lab:

Set up a diagnostic veterinary laboratory (for domestic animals --
primarily pets) with these capacities:

  o  Hematology (blood work)

  o  Biochemistry (e.g., liver and kidney functions, hormonal analyses)

  o  Bacteriology

  o  Parasitology (e.g., blood, stool, skin scrape)

  o  Xray and ultrasound

  o  Necropsy and other pathology

Each of you thought you could help us out by donating equipment,
supplies, Rx's, vet software, tapes (e.g., of ferret surgery) and
books (or by contacting people you think are ready to help). Actually,
we need just about everything, including big things such as modern
anesthesia equipment. The only method used is via injection.... pretty
much no pulling back if things go wrong. Other big things we need are
xray and ultrasound equipment. You can imagine the rest. NONE of these
things are available in Ethiopia except books (none on ferrets except
for what I'm bringing).

The vets have to work from their reading, experience, and intuition,
plus phone contacts between them and with vets and other experts
outside the country. I've ever seen a computer in a vet clinic --
they have to go to computer cafes. And yet, there are some good vets
for cats and dogs

This is a heads-up message -- I'll be phoning each of you soon. I'm
leaving for Addis in the middle of April. Are you able to send the
equipment to me here in Calif before April 10, or to us in Addis Ababa
before May 10? In the middle of May we'll submit our application for
land for the clinic from the Ethiopian government, and the farther
along we are in our process, the better.

You probably remember that there are now few clinics and NO labs for
pets in the entire country -- and very little even for commercial
animals such as cattle, sheep, etc. Oddly enough, the biggest effort is
for donkeys, and that is because, a few years ago, some English expats
in Addis took action on their behalf. We used to see many over-loaded
donkeys with sores on their backs, but not many now. So, with
concentrated effort, it is possible to have significant effects

Actually, back in 1969, my first husband and I rescued one with a
broken leg. The donkey'd been abandoned, and would have been devoured
by hyenas that night if we hadn't gotten him into our jeep and carted
him home. Remembering that makes me happy even now, 40 years later.
You'll feel just as good when we tell you how your donations are used.

We really want this to work. It is a big project, but we are
determined. Do you have suggestions of other people who'd like to
donate to this effort?

[Posted in FML 6284]