Please help us build a wall around the Sauvons nos Animaux shelter! If not us, who?
On October 2, Paterne (Sauvons nos Animaux Director) sent a desperate message: "Hi Karen, a large part of the fence is on the ground. The whole part that is made of sheet metal has fallen. We have to repair it. I don't know where to start."
Watch this video that shows the extent of the damage:
I took this picture (below) last November when I visited Sauvons nos Animaux, our AKI Partner Organization and Congo's only animal shelter. It shows the brick wall that had just been built thanks to the generous support of AKI donors, who came to the rescue, after that portion of the metal fence fell over during very heavy rains and winds. Now, the fence beyond the brick wall has blown down. The wall and fence enclose the entire upper portion of the shelter.
Together the wall and fence secure the shelter against thieves and those who would harm the cats and dogs. Also they allow the dogs to have free run of the plot (as in the photo above) instead of being confined to their pens all day.
We knew we had to help. As we did last year, we asked Paterne for an estimate, hoping we could afford to fund construction of a sturdy brick wall instead of only repairing the fence, which we know will just blow over again. We realized that a brick wall will cost a lot more than a metal fence, of course, but when Paterne shared the engineering estimate, we saw it was beyond what Animal-Kind International could afford.
Then Paterne sent another message: "I just learned that a complaint has been lodged against me by the residents around the shelter. They feel insecure because the dogs are not fenced in. Some even claim that the dogs eat their small animals like chickens and ducks and even cats." This is a real threat to the shelter and could mean that Sauvons nos Animaux will have to shut their doors, cease all operations, and find places for all the cats and dogs!
We at Animal-Kind International knew that something had to be done to help. Who else could Paterne rely on to come to his rescue other than us and Ecospirituality Foundation (thank you to Rosalba Nattero)? Congo is among the 5 poorest countries in the world with about 75% of the people living in "extreme poverty." And with so many challenges facing the world today, donations to Sauvons nos Animaux (directly and through Animal-Kind International) have decreased.
We decided to offer a match; in the hope that this will spur more supporters to act, we will double all donations we receive for the Sauvons nos Animaux wall. If you donate US$10, we will add an additional $10. If you donate $1000, we will add another $1000. We'll continue this until we raise all the money needed to build the remaining upper section of wall.
To-date, including funds already raised and our match, we still need to raise about $5000, which we will match with another $5000, giving us enough to fund construction of the wall.
Click on the button below to see the construction process, which is much more complicated and involves so much manual labor. What a difference from how you would build a wall in the US:
We're anxious and nervous --mixed with some excitement--about getting this wall built and ensuring a safer environment for dogs, cats, and staff, and making sure that Sauvons nos Animaux, Congo's only animal shelter, does not shut down! Paterne is anxious as well and is ready to begin: "As soon as we get the money, we'll start the work and we'll be able to avoid problems with our neighbors and keep everybody safe."
