Gender Equality Tanzania, United Republic of Project #57522

Support Women's WONDER Hubs in Tanzania

by EcoVet Global

Project Report | Sep 25, 2026
The One Health Impacts of a Chicken Vaccine

By Kate Sulzner | Director, EcoVet Global

Ms. Nice Vaccinating a Chicken

As we head into fall, we'd like to thank you again for supporting the Women's Earth Project. The community women of Mboliboli and Itonya continue to provide One Health outreach for their communities and the surrounding areas. But one simple initiative, vaccinating chickens against Newcastle disease, as unglamorous as it sounds, was the key to changing lives.

The Women's WONDER Hub project, launched by FOECOE and EcoVet Global in 2021, provides One Health training to community women in remote areas of Tanzania's Southern Highlands. It is built around a simple idea: the health of people, animals, and the land are interconnected. The community women we work with aren't just tackling one problem; they're learning to think about the challenges they face in the context of connectedness. They recognize that how they care for their animals, the crops they choose to grow, the cleanliness of the water they drink, and how they coexist with wildlife have reciprocal impacts. Integrated thinking is embedded into every decision they make, with respect to its impact on the climate, the biodiversity around them, and on the health of humans and animals.

When the project began, the women intentionally took on the challenge of improving chicken health as one of these decisions. They new the end result would produce a cascade of positive impacts. Scavenging chickens have a low carbon footprint, high nutritional value, and the potential to improve household income. However, Newcastle disease remains the primary driver behind chicken deaths and poor production. Each year, chicken flocks are decimated by this deadly disease, and most vaccines to prevent Newcastle disease require refrigeration, making transport of the vaccine to remote areas nearly impossible. Fortunately, a vaccine was created that does not require refrigeration and can be administered by eye drop.

Working alongside local Tanzanian veterinarians, we trained a small group of Southern Highland women to administer the vaccine as community vaccinators. This small initiative has been life-changing. Flocks are growing again. Household nutrition has improved, and the women have more financial security. Now in the fourth year of the chicken vaccination program, the women have been able to pool surplus income and pay for school supplies for all the children of the women who attend primary and secondary school.

Your steadfast support has made this change possible. On behalf of everyone at FOECOE and EcoVet Global, and the women of the Southern Highlands, thank you for being part of this story with us.

With gratitude,

Kate & the FOECOE / EcoVet Global Teams

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May 31, 2026
Community-Led Projects, Sustainability, and Growth

By Kate Sulzner | Director and Founder EcoVet Global

The Face of One Health Goals Reached

Greetings,

The women of Itonya have reached a remarkable milestone in the Women's EARTH Project. It's a milestone that reflects both the depth of their training and expertise, and the power of community-led, participatory approaches to One Health work. Before launching the project in 2021, our Tanzanian team met with community farming women in the Southern Highlands region to conduct a participatory needs assessment. By ensuring that the community women had a voice at the table, the group was able to identify the most pressing and interconnected challenges facing their communities: animal health, human-wildlife coexistence, water conservation, and adaptive farming in the face of climate change. Moreover, they were able to develop a solid implementation strategy and foundation for the project by drawing on indigenous knowledge and community wisdom as well as a team of in-country local and regional experts in health, economics, and conservation. This type of approach ensures that solutions are not imposed from the outside but grown from within, making them more effective, more trusted, and more lasting. The community women are not just the beneficiaries of this work, they are also its architects and its engine.

That ownership is now generating tangible, generational impact. For the first time, the women of Itonya are collectively earning income through their community outreach work across all four focus areas. Rather than keeping earnings individually, they pool resources and reinvest them into the project, expanding their reach and deepening their impact, while also building financial security for their families. This year, that pooled income achieved something extraordinary: every woman in Itonya was able to pay full annual school fees for her children. This is not simply a financial achievement. It is a declaration that the knowledge these women hold, the land they steward, and the communities they serve are worth investing in. It is a concrete measure of what happens when communities lead their own solutions, and firm proof that this approach works.

As always, thank you for your continued investment in the Women's EARTH Project. We are looking forward to a fruitful summer and fall ahead.

With gratitude,

The EcoVet Global and FOECOE Teams

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Feb 6, 2026
The Art of Conservation and Connection

By Kate Sulzner | Director, EcoVet Global

Children learn about One Health in Tanzania

Greetings,

In recognition of Earth Day coming up soon in April, FOECOE and EcoVet Global are preparing to launch a joint global children’s art exchange connecting primary school students in the Tanzanian communities where the Women’s Earth Project operates with children in the Bay Area of Northern California. Through visual storytelling, students will explore why wildlife and healthy ecosystems are important in their daily lives, reinforcing a core One Health principle: human health, animal health, and environmental health are fundamentally interconnected. Despite vast geographic and cultural differences, previous initiatives have shown that spending time outdoors and observing nature fosters a sense of wellbeing in children and encourages early environmental stewardship.

This initiative complements FOECOE’s women-led community activities by extending One Health education across generations. While women in the project strengthen community health, conservation practices, and environmental resilience, children are invited into the same systems-thinking framework through creative expression. One prompt guiding the artwork asks students to illustrate: “Why nature and animals are important to me and my community.” Research shows that creative engagement with nature supports mental health, fosters empathy, and strengthens pro-environmental behaviors. By centering this partnership project around Earth Day and Earth Month, FOECOE and EcoVet Global are using art as a science-informed tool to build cross-cultural connection, environmental literacy, and a shared sense of responsibility for a healthier future.

As always, we thank you for your continued support of this initiative and are wishing you a joyful celebration of the Earth this coming April.

With immense gratitude,

The FOECOE and EcoVet Global Teams

Conservation Art Penpals

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