Kindness to Animals has no Boundaries
April 2022
Dear Animal-Kind Friends,
In a typical year, I receive 150 to 200 messages from animal welfare organizations that are looking for funding. And now I can answer-YES! we will again support our Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program, our 5th annual grant program. We’ll accept proposals from May 22 until midnight GMT on June 15. If you are an Africa-based animal welfare organization, you’ll find INFORMATION HERE to determine if you are eligible; and if you are eligible, to apply.
To our Supporters: Our grant program is 100% donor-funded. That means that the more money we raise, together we can award more grants, we can strengthen more Africa-based animal welfare organizations, we can help more animals, and there will be greater awareness about kindness to animals.
I know that so many demands are being made on all of us, that so many things are pulling at our heartstrings….I’m going to pull them a little more. I invite you to read about the wonderful work our nine 2021 grantees did with their AKI grants. And then I hope you’ll decide to donate to our 2022 Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program, the only one of its kind. You can designate a country, a type of project (e.g., spay/neuter, humane ed), or let our proposal evaluation committee decide.
Are you looking for something to help you feel good about the world today? Support a grant and know that everything that is achieved by that grantee is because of you. (Contact me if you have questions about supporting a grant.) Our nine 2021 grantees are: HorseSafety-Ghana; WAG-Rwanda; Nairobi Feline Sanctuary; MARES-Zimbabwe; Tikobane/Humane Africa Trust-Zimbabwe; NYEMOVEC-Zambia; Sauvons nos Animaux-DRC; and VAWZ-Zimbabwe.
Uganda SPCA: Progress at the new shelter
I was working in Uganda in April (non-AKI work), and of course spent most of my off-work hours at the Uganda SPCA Haven and at the new location.
The picture above shows the entrance to the new plot (this is a temporary fence and gate for the construction phase, before more permanent structures can be built). As of April 22, concrete has been poured and block walls built for 8 newly constructed pens; concrete has been poured and slabs laid and ready for placement of 4 additional pens (block walls are still needed at these pens). Eight new metal enclosures have been constructed. A lot remains to be done, but what a difference from a few months ago! THANK YOU to AKI donors, who have -by far- provided the bulk of the funding for this work (as well as for land purchase).
April 2022 Updates from our Partner Organizations
Have a Heart-Namibia: We’ve continued to receive an unprecedented number of requests for help through the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund. In February and March, we ensured that 9 cats and dogs received emergency vet care that they would not have gotten without the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund. Already in April, we’ve helped 9 more dogs and cats get much-needed emergency care. (Read the April Update)
Kingston Community Animal Welfare: As many cats and dogs as KCAW spays and neuters, Deborah always finds more nursing moms on the streets of Kingston, searching for food and in need of spaying. We’ve been discussing with KCAW about how to more sustainably address this problem—a spay/neuter van would be ideal. Rather than picking up cats and dogs, one by one, sometimes two at a time-as KCAW does now, a van could work an entire community in a few days. We’ll be helping KCAW achieve this goal. (Read the April Update)
Uganda SPCA: Besides the work at the new shelter plot, AKI donors continue to cover USPCA’s daily operating costs, including shelter rent, salaries, cat and dog food, transport, electricity and water at The Haven. (Read the April Update)
Liberia Animal Welfare & Conservation Society: In April, thanks to AKI donors, LAWCS continued providing the only basic animal care for pets in remote communities where there’s no other access to vet care. One of the cases LAWCS attended to in April was a dog who was caught in a snare. Her paw was damaged and her owner applied herbs to treat it. That wasn’t working and the dog was slowly dying. The owner’s son, John, had heard about LAWCS and he asked for help for their family dog. LAWCS Animal Healthcare Officer immediately set off for the village to save the dog. The paw had to be amputated, surgery was successful, and the dog is recovering (photo below).
Sauvons nos Animaux (DR Congo): Finally we can report that the 200 cats and dogs at the SnA shelter have now been spayed/neutered-thanks to AKI donors! It took some time (about 8 months!) because they were so undernourished, they needed to gain weight and get healthy so they could withstand the surgery. Of course we’re continuing to support SnA with pet food and vet care for shelter animals. Also, we love SnA’s volunteer program (photo below, a shelter volunteer) and want to help expand it by providing fun and educational activities that will attract more volunteers to the shelter. More volunteers=more love to go around for the cats and dogs!
Bam Animal Clinics (Uganda): While I was in Uganda in April, I met with David Balondemu, Founder/Director of Bam Animal Clinics. I brought supplies donated by many of our supporters-David is very grateful to all of you! (photo below). We discussed AKI support for their donkey welfare program and Bam’s plans for the future. Of course we’ll continue to help Bam help donkeys (as I write this they are in the field holding vet clinics and humane saddle making workshops), but we’ll also help them expand their cat and dog welfare program in/around Iganga.
For all of this and more, we —AKI, our Partners, our Grantees— say a huge THANK YOU to you, our wonderful supporters.
To our monthly donors-we are especially grateful to you, without your recurring donations, we wouldn’t know where our next dollar was coming from. You give us the confidence and strength to continue our efforts to help the most vulnerable: animals in Africa and other lower income regions, where kindness to animals is not yet widely accepted; and where we see a lot of cruelty, often not intentional, but stemming from a lack of awareness. We are trying to change that.
Our very popular Pet Portraits are a great gift any time, but particularly for Mother’s Day. For mothers of cats, dogs, rabbits, goats, donkeys, horses, pigs, as well as humans, you can now get a Pet & People Portrait (or a Pet Portrait) for a minimum $12 donation to AKI! Request yours here.
Very Gratefully Yours,
Karen Menczer, Founder/Director
& the Animal-Kind International Board
AKI has Partner Organizations in Uganda (2 partners), Namibia (2 partners), DR Congo, Ghana, South Sudan, Liberia, Honduras, Jamaica, and Armenia. You can donate to AKI’s general fund or designate your donation to one or more of our Partner Organizations. Our 2021 grantees work in: Ghana, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe (3 grantees). AKI: Since 2007, helping animals and the people who care for them in some of the poorest countries. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; donations to AKI are tax deductible in the US to the extent the law allows. 100% of your donations go to our Partners & Grant Program.