September 2009 Newsletter

Contents

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Introduction

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APOPO clears land in Mozambique, giving village of 10,000 access toelectricity

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Professor Alan Poling joins the APOPO team

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APOPO showcases HeroRAT’s ability at Nane-Nane public agriculturalfairs

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Meet the Board: Josse Van Steinbergen

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Special thanks to APOPO TB project volunteer: Wit Davis

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Welcome to new HeroRAT volunteer: Kara Schnoes

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Support APOPO’s work

Introduction

I hope this newsletter finds you well. Much has happened this last monthincluding new ideas and people to contribute to our organization. We arelooking forward to upcoming changes and growth! Furthermore, thismonth, 5 rats passed their final tests in landmine detection and 24 patients were detected by our rats after being missed by microscopy in Tuberculosisdetection.In this addition of our newsletter, we have some great news fromMozambique! Our work has made it possible to bring electricity to a village of 10,000 people. The public utility company in Mozambique had given upcrossing this dangerous minefield, but our HeroRATs and skilled personnelremoved 32 dangerous mines to bring light to the village!

We also have some exciting new talent on board! Professor Alan Poling will be joining the APOPO team to improve many of our training and researchtechniques. Wit Davis, who will be returning home this month, has helpedclarify many of our research needs and aided in assessing the accuracy of ourTuberculosis rats. Kara Schnoes has joined us to work in communications onthe HeroRAT campaign as well as for our upcoming new websites, and in thisissue, you can learn more about long-standing board member Josse VanSteinbergen.Finally, we had some fun this last month at the annual local Nane-Nanecelebration! Our HeroRATs stole the show with their demonstrations and we were able to build our relationship with the community both here in Morogoroand in Dodoma.In the coming months we hope to announce many more new and excitinginitiatives here at APOPO. Again, we thank you for your continued support!

APOPO clears land in Mozambique giving 10,000 person villageaccess to electricity

APOPO has recently completed clearance of a small minefield at Pfukwe in thedistrict of Mabalane. This was a high priority task, necessary for EDM, theNational Electricity Company, to start work connecting the town of Mabalaneinto the National Grid. The presence of the minefield was causing a significanthazard to the workers and preventing the work from taking place. A survey of the minefield was conducted to establish the extent of the mined area, and inthe process revealed the tragedies which had befallen local inhabitants overthe years. Within the area, lay scattered skeletal remains of both humans andanimals – unsuspecting victims to these deadly legacies of conflict. APOPO cleared approximately 5000 square meters (100m x 50m) of land, and within this area found 32 anti-personnel mines, of type Gyata and PMN (seepicture for example). These are both anti-personnel blast mines, with a highexplosive content to weight ratio, causing either immediate death or severetraumatic amputation of a limb, which frequently becomes fatal. Work onthe electricity pylons has now resumed and Mabalane should be on theNational Electrical Grid within a few months. This work was made possiblethrough the continued support of our donors for 2009; namely the Belgian

Government, the Flemish Government and the UNDP.

Professor Alan Poling joins the APOPO team

APOPO is excited to announce the arrival of psychopharmacologist and behavior analyst Alan Poling of Western Michigan University. ProfessorPoling has published 11 books and more than 250 articles. His work hasappeared in 40 different professional journals. He will be working with the APOPO team over the next year to increase our research capacity and tofurther streamline our training processes. We are happy to have him and look forward to his important contributions! Welcome to the team Alan!

APOPO showcases HeroRAT’s ability at Nane-Nane

Nane-Nane (eight-eight) is a national Tanzanian holiday that happens every year on August 8th. It is meant to celebrate the land and agriculture, butparticularly the people who cultivate it. In every city it is a joyous public eventin which farmers and craftspeople show-off their finest products in themarkets and at the local fair.This year, APOPO staff Mark, Steven and Majenda set up booths at Nane-Nane fairs both in Morogoro and in Dodoma to exhibit what our HeroRATscan do! It was a great success, attracting crowds of interested on-lookers anddemonstrating a unique take on a common farm pest. These exhibitions arean important part of APOPO’s mission to create ownership and awareness within the greater community. Through efforts like these, APOPO continuesto be successful at drawing local support and interest!

Meet the Board: Josse Van Steinbergen

Josse Van Steinbergen, studied law and sociology at the University of Louvainand also received his Ph.D in the field of social law. He was a professor of social legislation and policy at the University of Antwerp and lectured at thefaculty of law, social sciences, applied economics, and medicine. Josse wasalso involved in the organization of the law faculty of the University of Rwanda and since 1994 has organized several projects of social policy in South Africa and Mozambique in partnership with colleagues from otheruniversities.