AKI supports LAWCS's Humane Education Program in schools and communities and community basic animal care clinics, as well as other LAWCS priority needs (e.g., salaries, motorbikes, office rent). Here are some of the recent LAWCS activities, made possible thanks to AKI donors.
We are all grateful to you, the board and the wonderful donors of AKI for the continued substantial financial and technical support. Together with you, we continue to be the active voice for the animals in Liberia.
Before I tell you about some of the specific activities we have been involved with, I want to give you an overview of our plan for 2019.
--We have established Humane Education in 36 schools with a target of 50,000 children: 12 schools in Voingama District, 12 schools in Kolahun District, and 12 schools in Foya District.
--We have Animal Kindness Clubs established in each of the 36 schools with 25 active members each. They are the outreach arm of the program, involved in outreach community education, visiting other schools that we have not gone and educating the children there, visiting homes and talking to people about kindness to animals, doing dog washing and grooming, community cleaning to stop dogs and cats from going to the dumpsites, etc.
--We now have two Humane Educators in each District totaling 6 Humane Educators. In each District, one Humane Educator is responsible for humane education in the 12 schools, visiting class to class and conducting programs with the students. The other person is responsible for the Animal Kindness Club activities.
--Abraham (Abie) is now back from Sierra Leone after an intensive hands-on training with Dr. Jalloh. He is responsible for animal health and care programs including de-worming, wound dressing, tick and flea control, vaccination and other minor conditions.
--Our target for 2019 is to help 10,000 animals and reach 7,000 adults with education programs in 150 towns/communities.
--We want to establish a weekly radio program with 3 local radios and a monthly press release with one of the national newspapers to bring more awareness about us and the work.
--Haja is serving as the Administrative Manager responsible for coordinating all administrative work.
--I am responsible for the overall management, monitoring and evaluation, public engagement, etc.
--We also have one security officer at the office. We now have a big office with space to keep sick and wounded animals until they recover, keep neglected and abandoned animals until we find owners or compassionate people to care for them.
--We are now 9 persons in total. We will be training 100 teachers for this year.
Below are some of our recent activities:
APRIL
These are pictures from our Community Engagement Program in April. We meet with entire communities to discuss issues with animal care and welfare.
March
Support from AKI continues to keep us active in many communities in Lofa County with animal welfare education for pet owners along with free basic lifesaving healthcare and treatments. These are photos from our March activities. They show LAWCS meeting witih a community and Abie treating the pets that were brought to the mobile clinic.
February
By working with rural communities to improve the health of their pets through education and free treatments, we are helping to create healthier, safer and happier communities for pets and people. We provide free basic treatments, such as control of parasites, including worms, fleas, ticks, and mange for dogs and cats. See pictures below of our work in February showing a community meeting and Abie treating pets during the clinic.
February
Below are photos of our Community Engagement Program. It was never possible to have an entire community coming together to discuss the plight of animals few years ago. However, LAWCS Community Engagement Program continues to help communities to see animals as living beings just like us, they need balanced diets, fresh water, shelter, healthcare, and compassion. The communities now value animals and feel proud to take photos with their animals. LAWCS has been able to establish Community Animal Welfare Focal Groups in communities that we have reached. Our target this year is to engage 150 communities.
January
Schools reopened in January after the holidays and the children were very happy to be back in school and participating in LAWCS Humane Education Program. The program is fun and interactive and gives the children the opportunity to critically think, recognize, discuss, and describe issues affecting animals. They all participate in designing programs and activities that they can take on to improve the welfare of animals. These are pictures of the children back at school after the long break.
Thank you AKI and your donors. We will keep you updated as we move ahead in 2019 and continue to improve the lives of animals in Liberia.