Female Soldiers teach, certify Yemeni women to help livestock

Photo By Staff Sgt. Sarah Stegman | Yemen (13 December, 2006)---United States Army Staff Sgt. Meghan Groth, a veterinary technician with Third Army/U.S. ARCENT, shows a Yemeni animal worker how a stethoscope is used to listen to heart beats during a veterinary civil action program.  

12.11.2006

Courtesy Story

40th Public Affairs Detachment

Senior Airman Sarah Stegman
CJTF-HOA Public Affairs

Yemen —Four female Soldiers have given more than 40 women the tools and knowledge to change the future of Yemen's economy.

The group included veterinarians and veterinary technicians, two of which are with Third Army/U.S. Army Central. The group traveled to Sana'a, Yemen, from Kuwait, Bahrain and Djibouti to teach basic livestock care to female animal workers Nov. 11 to Nov. 23. The course is part of the first all-female veterinary civil action program, according to Capt. Gwynne Kinley, a veterinarian with Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.

"The animal workers in Yemen are predominately women, so it was necessary for CJTF-HOA to send an all-female team to teach these women, due to the sensitive nature of the culture," said Kinley.

The training was conducted in several small villages outside the capital city of Sana'a and in the governate, or province, of Amran. The female animal health workers represented five governates in Yemen: Al-Jawf, Amran, Marib, Sa'dah and Shabwah. The U.S. Agency for International Development has targeted governates for its agricultural development projects. Some women traveled more than 300 miles to be certified by the CJTF-HOA veterinary team.

A few of the topics covered in the training included how to identify infectious diseases, treating common ailments and hoof trimming. Each woman received more than $650 worth of veterinary supplies including multivitamins, various medications, lidocaine, topical cream, wound powder, digital thermometers, syringes, veterinary gloves and various Arabic-language disease pamphlets.

"After teaching these ladies, they are able to build capacity within their villages and surrounding countryside by going on to train additional female animal health workers," Kinley said. "We're perpetuating the cycle of education and at the same time improving the country's overall livestock health and productivity."

During the two-week project, the Soldiers taught the women both in the classroom and outdoors with practical application techniques with help from Dr. Najib Al-Hammadi of the Yemen Agricultural Support Program.

"After receiving the training the women are recognized by the Republic of Yemen as certified animal workers and can be called upon by the government to care for animals," said Al-Hammadi. "The title also gives them more respect and authority within their own villages."

Educating the women to raise healthier livestock helps their villages, said Capt. Stephanie Foreman, a veterinarian on the mission.

"Livestock are the lifeblood of remote villages in Yemen," said Foreman. "The healthier the animals are, the healthier the people who eat the meat and drink the milk will be. When it's time to take the animals to market, the families can prosper monetarily because the animals they've raised are larger and healthier than in the past. Also, the wool on the sheep will be enhanced, and the wool industry in the country can flourish."

CJTF-HOA, the U.S. Embassy and USAID are preparing to continue these types of projects at least four times a year to continue follow-ups with the female animal workers.

• Date Taken: 12.11.2006
• Date Posted: 12.11.2006 14:16
• Story ID: 8538