Country: Kenya
Position: Farm Management Advisor
International Partner: MERU Dairy
Placement Date: June 2018
Maggie is a PhD student at the University of Guelph in the Population Medicine Department. Maggie's research focuses on using therapeutic levels of the amino acid tryptophan to decrease behaviour issues in growing pigs. Maggie was raised on her family's dairy farm in Eastern Ontario and has loved all things dairy cows from a very early age.
Maggie has just returned from a placement in Meru, Kenya, where she worked as a Farm Management Advisor. During her placement, Maggie visited several small-scale dairy farmers and their farms and helped conduct seminars on increasing milk production, improving cow and calf nutrition and improving cow and calf welfare. During her placement, Maggie was able to explore different national parks and see many of the incredible animals and scenes that Kenya has to offer!
#VETSVolunteerVoices aims to bring you the stories of our passionate VETS program volunteers from the field. Meet Ian Parfitt, a GIS Mapping Advisor who spent three months in Cambodia (January–April 2025) supporting organic agriculture and digital transformation with our local partner, AVSF Cambodia.
Megan Sylka, Senior Program Officer at VWB, shares how her recent visit to Kenya revealed the powerful ripple effects of the VETS program—highlighting how Community One Health Champion Shelmith Mwai is transforming her dairy farm, her family dynamics, and her community through knowledge, leadership, and collaboration.
This article examines how a One Health approach can transform food safety systems by addressing the interconnected health of people, animals, and the environment—highlighting the importance of cross-sector collaboration, innovations like Canada’s CFSIN, and global strategies to mitigate risks such as antimicrobial resistance, climate change, and zoonotic disease.
