AKI News: May 2021
Animal-Kind’s 4th Annual Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program will accept proposals starting on June 1.
For applicants, please see the 2021 grant application, guidelines, and FAQs available for download here. You will need to review all 3 documents to ensure your proposal is complete and conforms to the guidelines. You may wish to review previous grants that we’ve awarded to get an idea of the types of projects we support. To be considered for a grant, we must receive your complete proposal no later than June 21 (We extended the deadline from June 15 to 21 at the request of several organizations.)
For our supporters, Animal-Kind’s grant program is 100% donor-funded. In previous years, we’ve budgeted for 4 grants, and thanks to your donations, we’ve been able to fund 8 grants in both 2018 and 2019 and 9 grants in 2020. PLEASE consider a donation to our grant program (put “grants” in the note section of the donation form) and please get in touch with me if you’d like to discuss your preferences for types and locations of a grant you’d like to support.
[Photo above: AKI 2020 grantee, Giving is Living-South Africa, built fenced yards so that 12 dogs could be released from being chained 24/7.]
Funding for animal welfare in Africa is very limited. By far, countries in Africa have more people living in poverty than countries in any other region. Of course this means that the pool of individual donors in Africa is very limited. Most people are trying to meet their basic needs with nothing left over to donate.
Since there are so many challenges and issues that need to be addressed, animal welfare-sadly-takes a backseat to most of these. This means that donations from private companies and budget support from governments (sources of much of the animal welfare funding in wealthier countries) are used to meet the needs of humans.
Foundations and other types of grant-making assistance (mainly from non-profits), another huge source of support for animal welfare organizations in the wealthier world, are very few and far between in Africa.
But the good news is that, especially because Africa has the youngest population in the world, there are many new, vibrant animal welfare advocates, many of whom have started animal welfare organizations or joined existing ones. They’re bringing an African flavor to the field of animal welfare, as well as their enthusiasm and an interest in combining what has proven to work elsewhere with some new ideas. We want to make sure they remain committed to animal welfare, and the only way to do that is to provide opportunities, like our Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program (as well as our “Friendly Audits,” we’ve told you about in previous newsletters).
[Photo above: Education for African Animal Welfare, one of the organizations participating in AKI’s Friendly Audit program. They are using innovative methods to reach people with animal care and welfare messaging through their communication program.]
Those are some of the reasons we started the only grant program specifically targeted to animal welfare organizations in Africa and why we hope you will join us by donating.
The Animal-Kind Blog: May 2021
Our May blog posts bring you updates from two of our Partner Organizations and a special article from an Animal-Kind volunteer.
Mbwa wa Africa & Animal-Kind Int’l - happy stories about helping dogs & cats in Tanzania: We promise you only happy tales of rescue in this article about our Partner Organization in Tanzania.
Uganda SPCA-busy as always in early 2021: So many rescues, so many adoptions, these are just a few. As many of you know, the Uganda SPCA is hoping to buy land for a new Haven and a 2-acre plot has been identified. The USPCA is currently in negotiations with the landowner and his agent and we expect to know more within about a week. We are raising money through GlobalGiving, directly on the AKI website (USPCA page), and on the GoFundMe fundraiser page, where we are posting regular updates.
A Visit to Nairobi Feline Sanctuary: Nairobi Feline Sanctuary was a 2020 Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization grant recipient (Our grant supported construction of a spay/neuter clinic at the sanctuary, the kitty play area (pictured above), and improvements to the kitty sleep area.) Animal-Kind volunteers, Joanne and daughter Cassia, are volunteers with NFS through our Friendly Audit program. They developed a strong bond with NFS founder & director, Rachel, and in May, they visited her and the kitty sanctuary. Joanne wrote about their visit for the AKI Blog.
For a $12 donation to AKI, Joan will make you a pet portrait (like this beauty pictured below). When you donate $12, and put “pet portrait” in the note section of the donation form (or if you prefer, send a check to the address below), follow that up with a clear, high quality photo of your pet. Usually within a few days, Joan will send you a digital file that you can print on paper, canvas, have it put on a cup, a t-shirt, or wherever you’d like to see your pet’s face!
It’s been a while since we’ve updated you on Animal-Kind in South Sudan. After getting far too many cruelty reports from South Sudan, we started working with a group of people, who lived in or temporarily worked in South Sudan, to organize the 1st ever s/n campaign in Juba. For the last 15 months, covid-19 has gotten in the way of our plans. But about a month ago, we began getting messages from some relief/aid organizations, telling us that they are overrun with cats, and while they’re trying to feed them and protect them, there are just too many. It was time to put our spay/neuter plans back in action!
Our s/n campaign consists of a training component for local vets, as well as about 2 weeks for conducting spay/neuter surgeries. It’s a really big job just to figure out logistics since nothing like this has been done there before. But with the renewed interest from within the country, we are hopeful and we hope to bring you good news from South Sudan soon.
100% of your donations go to AKI-supported organizations, our Partner Organizations in 9 countries: Uganda (2 partners), Tanzania, South Sudan, Namibia (2 partners), Liberia, Ghana, Armenia, Jamaica, and Honduras; and AKI's 2020 Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Recipients who work in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo (2 grantees), Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Please help us get the word out about AKI by forwarding this message to your friends and family who love animals. Please stay safe and healthy. With Gratitude, Karen Menczer, Founder & Director & thehttps://www.animal-kind.org/aki-donate AKI Board
