Polish Aid improves veterinary education in Tanzania
11.01.2021
As part of its Polish Aid programme, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is involved in developing education in Tanzania. With the project “Improving the quality of veterinary sciences education for young people in Tanzania through better teaching conditions,” the Foundation Science for Development supports the activities of two centres: the Livestock Training Agency – Tengeru and the Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro, the only agricultural university in Tanzania.
Over the last two years, major renovation and modernisation works have been carried out at both facilities’ teaching buildings. Some of them have never been renovated since their construction in the 1960s. A building which houses diagnostic and analytical labs in Tengeru had its roof structure and cover replaced; the lab area was extended; and windows and water and electricity systems were replaced. New laboratory furniture and, most importantly, advanced analytical equipment was purchased from a Polish producer. It has outfitted laboratories for students in LITA Tengeru and SUA Morogoro. Modern microscopes, diagnostic analysers and audiovisual equipment allow young Tanzanians to receive education in conditions similar to those their peers enjoy in Poland.
The infrastructure investments as part of project activities were complemented by a series of courses for LITA and SUA teachers. The courses, which enable new teaching methods to be implemented at both supported facilities, have been developed and carried out by lecturers from the Institute of Veterinary Medicine of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW).
The two-year project ended with the official opening of the modernised and retrofitted laboratories in Morogoro and Tengeru. The ceremony was attended among others by: Krzysztof Buzalski, Polish Ambassador to Tanzania, Prof. Elisante Ole Gabriel, Permanent Secretary for Livestock Sector at the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries of the United Republic of Tanzania, Prof. Marta Mendel, SGGW Vice-Rector for International Cooperation, and Prof. Marcin Bańbura, SGGW Director of the Institute for Veterinary Medicine. The meeting with the representatives of Tanzania’s Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries and the Polish Embassy provided an opportunity to discuss the prospects for further cooperation between the Ministry and the SGGW, as well as other universities and research institutions in East Africa.
It should be mentioned that Tengeru and Morogoro have been historically close to many Poles. It was there that our compatriots found refuge in camps during and immediately after World War II, having been evacuated from the Soviet Union under the Sikorski-Maisky Agreement. And it is in these places that Polish graves remain, looked after by Polish diplomatic missions.
Prepared on the basis of contribution from Foundation Science for Development
