NGO & Travel
NGO Photography in Goa, India for Mission Rabies
On a follow-up photojournalism assignment for Mission Rabies in Goa, India as the state attempts to be the first in India to be declared rabies-free
The 28th of September is World Rabies Day and I thought I’d mark the occasion with a write up of my recent trip to Goa, India to document the ongoing work of the Mission Rabies team.
Since my last visit to India, Mission Rabies had managed to secure the political will from the Goan government to make the state the first to be rabies-free in India. The focus had broadened from vaccinating to include population control through neutering. Eliminating rabies is no easy task – requiring the vaccination of at least 70% of the dog population. This required several hubs of highly skilled and organised catchers backed up by teams of vets and animal handlers to neuter and vaccinate the animals. Even with such a great team, success could not be guaranteed without the support of several key politicians and the communities in which the dogs reside – the tireless effort put in by the Mission Rabies team to achieve this impressed me on a daily basis.
For me the core of the brief was to create a set of images that documented the hard work the team was doing in the communities and surgeries, capture the energy of a rabies awareness march by several hundred highly vocal school children in Panjim and photography of an event featuring the Deputy Chief Minister of Goa.
All that is left is to congratulate the Mission Rabies team for their many successes in the year since the inception of the project and to wish them lots of success for the next phase of the project. Well done!
MORE INFORMATION ON MISSION RABIES
You can find out more by heading to the Mission Rabies India website, the Dogs Trust Worldwide and Worldwide Veterinary Service.
You can also see a fantastic video documentary by Red Earth Studios on the work being done in India and Malawi.
ABOUT RICHARD MURGATROYD
Richard Murgatroyd Photography is a London-based documentary photographer with a background in social and development matters. You can find more information about my NGO Photography and work in the charity and not-for-profit sector here.
