Farmers see hope in blind but gifted village vet who’s always on call

The adage that every dark cloud has a silver lining aptly describes Daniel Kiplagat, a resident of Kipchawat village in Elgeyo Marakwet. Kiplagat is not your typical veterinary officer; he is blind but sees to it that you get a good job done. 

Kiplagat, as he is fondly referred to in his village, is an accomplished veterinary officer whose work speaks for itself.

Despite his otherwise ‘dark world’, the vet has offered hope to hundreds of livestock farmers in his neighbourhood in need of veterinary services.

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On an ordinary day, he visits at least 10 farms to offer a range of veterinary services to farmers and pet lovers. Locals prefer him because of his availability.

“My work is challenging because of my blindness, but it has never prevented me from living a normal life. I am very passionate about livestock. I have a family to fend for, thus I cannot sit pretty and wait for help,” said the 51-year-old father of nine.

Kiplagat said because he is a trained vet, diagnosing a disease or even calving an animal is not a big deal.

“The blindness has not incapacitated all other senses. I rely heavily on my other senses to execute my work normally. The livestock owner has to describe the behaviour of the animal before I physically examine it,” he stated.

He explained that because he cannot walk around unaided, livestock or pet owners in need of his services have to look for him at his home and guide him to their farms. “After I have been given the history and behaviour, I wait for the animal to be restrained. I then palpate the lymph nodes. When I feel their sizes it will automatically inform me what ails the animal. If it is an issue to do with mastiti, I palpate the udder. With touch, I can precisely estimate the animal live weight if the farmer wants the animals de-wormed,” he said.

He said tick-borne diseases, mastitis, de-worming, de-horning, docking, difficult calving among other livestock issues were some of the services he had been offering. “I store some medicines so that I administer to them on a need basis and replenish them once they are exhausted. A guide has to assist me identify the drugs to be injected to the animal as well as read the dosage,” he adds.

The Standard found Kiplagat at the home of one of his neighbours treating a cow that had suffered East Coast Fever.

Joseph Kiptoo, the cow’s owner, said Kiplagat had been his vet of many years and his work enviable.

“The vet can be easily accessed, and this has saved farmers from losing their sick animals. He has never commercialised the skill because of his condition, otherwise he would be earning a lot of money from it. There is no standardised fee for his services,” said Kiptoo.

Unfortunately, he noted, many dishonest farmers do not pay Kiplagat promptly. “There are people who owe him debts dating back to two years ago. Some take advantage of his situation and fail to pay him. This is not good,” stated Kiptoo.

Another resident, June Komen, said Kiplagat had become an inspiration because despite his blindness, he never begged to feed his family.

“With the current challenges, many in his state would be on the streets begging, as their families sleep hungry. Some of his peers are wasted in the villages. He is our inspiration,” she said.

Born to a single mother in 1969, Kiplagat had a difficult childhood. Despite the challenges, he scored 31 points out of the possible 36 but lack of enough money prevented him from joining ‘A’ level or even a university.

“I opted to join Ahiti College in Nyahururu for a course in animal health and production. But structural adjustments in the civil service made it impossible to be absorbed,” he said.

By then his eye condition was deteriorating and after visiting several opticians, he was advised to use lenses. He abandoned these after they worsened his condition.

“I’m just pulling myself up, life is challenging,” he said.