I am Precious Mastala, a student at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) in Malawi, and I am pursuing a BSc in Veterinary Medicine (DVM). Vet Medicine is nice to study and goes with passion and love for animal welfare, which extends community wide.
Beyond animal welfare, Vet Medicine is employed in control of zoonotic diseases.
There are too categories: diseases from humans to animals and vice versa.
Diseases among community members are a set back towards development. Take for example tuberculosis (TB), which can be transferred from an animal to a human being due to consumption of meat from an infected animal. This can be prevented if a veterinarian does a proper meat inspection. One more interesting thing in Vet Medicine is that I am developing an understanding of animal behaviour and can interpret what is is wrong with the animal, or understand its need. It’s awesome!!
Having graduated as a Veterinary Doctor, I intend to help in improving Malawi’s socio-economic status which is very poor. I will focus on the animal production angle and also intensify meat inspection to combat avoidable diseases that are caused from consuming diseased meat.
I am from Chisani Village, Traditional Authority (TA), Kalonga, Salima district in the Central Region of Malawi. I am from a family of 6 children, 3 boys and 3 girls, headed by my mother who is a subsistence farmer. My father ran away. I am the first born and I have always worked hard knowing that I have a responsibility – to my brothers and sisters and also to help develop my village and country.
I am an intelligent and smart, ever-hard working person. I know that there is no food for a lazy person. I always make sure that I work hard to succeed. I would like to express a word of thanks to the Watipa scholarships committee for granting me the help I sincerely needed. Without it, I was at stake of withdrawing from my studies.
“WATIPA is hope and future;” that, I’ll always sing.
Great appreciation,
Precious Mastala
Precious Mastala is a second year student at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) in Malawi, pursuing a BSc in Veterinary Medicine (DVM)