Tauranga vet Mariska Chalmers gives client Loki a routine check before she heads to Tonga to lead a team of SPAW volunteers. Photo / Sandra Conchie
Tauranga veterinarian Mariska Chalmers found her passion in life at age 3 when her mother warned her not to touch bats because they could be sick.
South African-born Chalmers, 29, who works at Vetcare Bethlehem, is in Tonga to run a free week-long clinic with other volunteers from New Zealand-based charity South Pacific Animal Welfare (SPAW).
Chalmers gained her qualification from Massey University in 2020 and said she had a calling from age 3 to become a vet.
“I had just watched a TV programme about bats, and my mother knew I was very inquisitive... She told me if I ever saw a bat in real life, I wasn’t allowed to touch it because it could be sick.”
She said her mother was talking about rabies, “but I misunderstood and felt very sad for the bats that could be sick”.
“She told me there were medicines to make them better, and that’s what a vet does.”
Chalmers said from a “very young age” she began rescuing all sorts of animals, including earthworms and birds that fell out of nests.
She also volunteered at the Whanganui Bird Rescue Centre during her university days.
“Empathy for anything living and feeling the pain of seeing them suffering, and the desire to do what I could to fix it, has never waned.”
Chalmers said she had been a SPAW volunteer for three years.
The charity, through volunteers, donations and sponsors, provided free veterinary clinic services in South Pacific countries that have “little or no veterinary care”.
On Friday, Chalmers and seven other SPAW volunteer vets and vet nurses flew to Tongatapu in Tonga.
This was her third SPAW volunteer trip to Tonga, but her first as a team leader.
The team of volunteers also includes two from Rangiora, three from Auckland, another from Tauranga, and one from Adelaide Hills, Australia.
During each clinic, the volunteer teams work with local partners and organisations, desexing hundreds of animals and providing hundreds of consultations alongside other surgeries.
They also dispense medication as well as flea and worm treatments.
Chalmers paid for her own flights, took annual leave, and paid a fee towards her accommodation costs in Tonga.
The charity also called for donations to fund the week-long clinic, she said.
“I’m excited to have the opportunity to see the people and the animals I’ve treated on previous visits.”
Chalmers said helping our South Pacific neighbours was important work.
“It’s not just about showing up, doing some stuff for five days and hoping it goes well. We don’t want to be seen as knights in shining armour, but as people participating alongside members of the community.
“I think there is a lot of beauty and value in returning to the same place so that I can see whether the impacts we have made are heading in the right direction.”
She said the animals they treated typically ranged from cats and dogs to farm animals, including pet pigs and injured horses, but ultimately, they helped any animal that needed it.
“We do many, many surgeries. The ones that are more of a shock are the amputations, and that’s what hit me as to the gravity of the situation in Tonga.”
Chalmers said during a previous trip, she visited the small island of Vava’u, where a dog had to wait six months for surgery for a broken leg after being hit by a car.
“There’s always a real energy in the air, huge relief, and gratitude from the community when we arrive.
“They often do what they can to show their gratitude, whether it’s bringing in food and drink for us or making monetary donations. Cash donations are used to fund future trips.”
Chalmer urged others to become SPAW volunteers.
“I work at this job so I can do this volunteer work overseas- it’s empowering. The most important thing is to have empathy, passion and a desire to help in any way you can.”
SPAW founder Karen Schade said hundreds of volunteer vets and vet nurses had given their time to the cause during the past 15 years and improved the lives of thousands of animals.
“In 2024 alone, more than 2,500 animals in the Kingdom of Tonga and Samoa were treated during seven week-long clinics.
“Our incredible volunteers desexed more than 900 animals, and treated more than 500 animals via telemedicine consultations.
“The value of these services to local communities was more than $1.3 million last year.”
Schade said SPAW was a small charity entirely run by volunteers.
“These clinics are vital for providing essential care and keeping animal populations under control.
“We couldn’t provide these services without the volunteers, donors, supporters and partners who generously give financial contributions, medications or food.”
Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 25 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.