Our June Volunteer of the Month is Dr. Yugendar Reddy Bommineni, who volunteered for the first time with Winrock’s USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer program in the fall.
Dr. Bommineni shared his expertise in veterinary microbiology with technicians from the Bangladesh Department of Livestock Services – Central Disease Investigation Laboratory and poultry diagnostic laboratory staff from a private Bangladeshi agribusiness. He helped develop lab protocols and provided in-service training to staff on diagnosis of common poultry diseases. His training and technical assistance has been instrumental in helping these two organizations to upgrade their facilities and procedures for poultry disease diagnosis and improve the quality and depth of training and services that they provide to small- and medium-scale poultry farmers.
Winrock’s F2F Bangladesh staff commend Dr. Bommineni for his outstanding support, noting, “The trainees learned many techniques from him. He continued trainings and discussions even after 10 pm. He is a dedicated person to help improve lab techniques for the sustainability of the poultry industry in Bangladesh.”
Dr. Bommineni made such an impression, he was invited back to Bangladesh for a second assignment this month.
We asked Dr. Bommineni to reflect on his first F2F volunteer experience, and he shared the following thoughts:
What inspired you to volunteer with the F2F Program?
“I am originally from India, so the environment of Bangladesh is known to me. After having the opportunity of a good education in the US, I feel the responsibility to help people in the developing world. My father also encouraged me to help distressed people of this region.”
What were some factors that most contributed to your success on the assignment?
“Firstly, my right education, background, and experience. Secondly, due to my Indian origin, people could express their problems to me comfortably. I also tried to be well-prepared. I communicated with relevant people to understand the problems before arriving in the country.”
How did the assignment impact you personally?
“This was a great experience for me. I learned a lot about Bangladeshi poultry diseases and saw a lot of diseases that I won’t see in the United States.
Working in Bangladesh, I [also] had the opportunity to see the severity of food insecurity. This has been good motivation for me not to waste food and water. I’ve become more responsible to become a good citizen.”
What were the most memorable moments?
“It was memorable to me when I learned from my host staff that my training was special to them. According to them, the learning from my training was very applicable and useful for them to carry out their job responsibilities.
The people who really need help and would benefit from my knowledge or my help was the most satisfying thing to me and acted as the driving force to bring me back to Bangladesh to volunteer again.”
Here are some photos of Dr. Bommineni in action:
