“Dog is man’s best friend,” goes the colloquialism attributed to Frederick II, King of Prussia.
Rabies is friend to neither.
Louis Masai for Mission Rabies. Blantyre, Malawi. May 2016. (photo © Louis Masai)
To Malawi today we go to school with artist Louis Masai, who just painted three happy vaccinated dogs with colorfully patterned ears during eight days with the goal of raising the discussion about the vicious disease that has hurt this country.
With Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique as neighbors, landlocked Malawi has about 17 million people and its capital Blantyre has one of the highest rates of child rabies anywhere in Africa. Along with Mission Rabies, a voluntary veterinary team, the artist has been working to make it the lowest.
Louis Masai for Mission Rabies. Blantyre, Malawi. May 2016. (photo © Louis Masai)
Masai tells us that since May of 2015, the volunteers have vaccinated more than 35,000 dogs in Blantyre, vastly lowering the threat to children, and his new paintings are meant as a point of reference for the educational component of the Mission Rabies campaign.
“Using acrylics and brushes, I painted three murals of local dogs that I had met and whom the vets were treating,” he tells us of the new works inside the walls of local schools.
“It’s not unusual to have 5,000 to 8,000 children in a school, so it’s an incredibly busy and awesome place to host an education program,” he says. “The concept is that with the murals in situ, the teachers and students can discuss the information passed on to them by Mission Rabies and their team.”
Sometimes people can be man’s best friend as well.
Louis Masai for Mission Rabies. Blantyre, Malawi. May 2016. (photo © Louis Masai)
Louis Masai for Mission Rabies. Blantyre, Malawi. May 2016. (photo © Louis Masai)
Louis Masai for Mission Rabies. Blantyre, Malawi. May 2016. (photo © Louis Masai)
Louis Masai for Mission Rabies. Blantyre, Malawi. May 2016. (photo © Louis Masai)
Learn more about Mission Rabies here: http://www.missionrabies.com/projects/malawi/
Other Articles You May Like from BSA:
A fluorescent underwater sea creature is flobbing it’s tentacles in the ripply and unusual directions of the currents and cross currents, full of life and full of crazy ideas. This particular one is h...
Welcome to BSA Images of the Week. Normally on Sunday we give you a hit parade of different pieces on the street so you can stay connected with the movement on the street. This Sunday we are loo...
The city of Borås, Sweden is picturesque already when you are wandering through its cobbled side streets and along the Viskan River that whispers and weaves through it past churches, old textile fac...
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities. Now screening : 1. "Nos Jardins" By Anais Florin for Bien Urbain #92. Vhils and his Work. A look into the Lisb...
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities. Now screening: A debut from UR New York, Cola de Farinha, Pigeon in the Venice of the North, En Masse ...