Kindness to Animals has no Boundaries
February 2025
Dear Animal-Kind Friends,
Our February newsletter has info on the situation in eastern DRC and our Partner, SnA's Congo shelter, a Jamaica spay mobile, and the foreign aid freeze, animal welfare, and AKI.
Sometimes it seems more divides us than brings us together. But for those of us who care about animals, their welfare can over-ride all else. That’s the case for our February update. So many of you, from all corners of the world, all over the political spectrum sent messages of concern in the last month. You asked about Paterne and the AKI-supported shelter in Congo. And you asked: Is the US cut in foreign aid affecting Animal-Kind International and the animal welfare organizations AKI supports? Read on for the answers (and for news from Jamaica, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Liberia, and Israel/Gaza).
A Jamaica Spay Mobile
For decades, our Partner Kingston Community Animal Welfare has been rescuing, feeding, spaying/neutering, and encouraging people in Kingston to be more compassionate to the 1000s of dogs and cats who live on Kingston’s streets. And we’ve been supporting KCAW in these efforts since 2007. We’ve said so often that no matter how many cats and dogs KCAW rescues and sterilizes, the number on the streets only increases. Sights like this below (photo, 2 February) are far too common (although usually they’re not eating a pile of KCAW’s good food).
Once trapped or otherwise lured, KCAW brings cats and dogs to a local vet clinic for spay/neuter. It’s a slow process and if lucky, a couple of animals can be scheduled each week (In 2024, AKI funded s/n of 72 cats and dogs living on Kingston’s streets).
Imagine if we could s/n more, MANY more! Over the years, AKI and KCAW have talked about purchasing a van and converting it to a spay mobile, but it’s never been the right time. We recently revisited the topic and decided NOW is the right time! Deborah is searching for a suitable used vehicle, knows someone who can convert it to a spay mobile, and has vets and assistants eager to s/n cats and dogs all over Kingston….and some day, beyond! We’re written so much over the years about the problem: READ ABOUT THE SITUATION IN KINGSTON FOR STREET ANIMALS. And now we’re ready for the solution—we just need your kind help!
AKI Blog: February Updates
In the AKI Blog this month, there’s an update from our Partner Liberia Animal Welfare & Conservation Society and reports from two of our grantees (the Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program), who have completed their 2024 grant projects.
1) Humane Ed, Humane Kids in Liberia is about the young Animal Heroes who have been inspired by the AKI-funded, Liberia Animal Welfare & Conservation Society-sponsored Humane Ed Program.
2) In 2024, we awarded a grant to Starting Over Sanctuary to assist donkeys in conflict areas in Israel & Gaza. At the completion of their their grant project, which funded construction of a shelter for rescued donkeys and vet care for two emergency cases, Sharon, the director of Starting Over wrote, "AKI was amazing to come immediately to the rescue after they were alerted to the situation of Damka a small foal, who broke her leg completely and luckily was rescued and brought to safety by a caring combat soldier.”
3) Lake Zone Animal Welfare Organization in Tanzania completed their grant project to rescue street dogs and cats in Mwanza, provide vet care, including spay/neuter, and shelter and re-home them, if needed. Their results: 23 puppies, 8 adult dogs, 4 cats rescued from difficult lives on the street; 6 veterinary students and 3 paravets trained in spay/neuter and rescue; and more!
Update: Sauvons nos Animaux-Congo
I received messages from so many of you who hoped for positive news from Paterne, about his family, the Sauvons nos Animaux shelter staff, and the cats and dogs at the shelter. We watched from afar as the rebels traveled from Goma to Bukavu in eastern Congo, knowing we could do nothing but let Paterne know that we are here for him and Sauvons nos Animmaux when things settle down.
We are relieved that at least as of now, the Sauvons nos Animaux family is safe and there have been no casualties (although eastern Congo has suffered far too much devastation). Paterne and the shelter staff kept the shelter operating and the animals fed and safe as the rebels entered Bukavu. Now that it’s a bit calmer, SnA is assessing the situation. Paterne wrote, “Many animals were left abandoned in enclosures when residents fled. We have set up a helpline that keeps receiving calls, but unfortunately, we have not yet obtained the necessary authorization to rescue these animals.” We’re in touch with Paterne and he and his staff expect to get the OK soon and when they do, we want to make sure they are ready to start the emergency rescue operation!
Doggy Tuesday & More From Zimbabwe
Last week, Sarah with our Partner Twala Trust wrote to us, “This Doggy Tuesday we had a particularly busy veterinary caseload. Thank you for all you do to keep Doggy Tuesday going - with Zimbabwe in an economic freefall, the gratitude of the community is so apparent. With so much to deal with, at least they know their dogs are taken of.” Sarah said that some of the veterinary cases were too upsetting and graphic to post. Not Flynn’s though!
Above: “Flynn was abandoned on the streets of Harare, malnourished, dirty, old and terrified. We were able to offer him a place at Twala after he found being at Harare SPCA overwhelming…” (Sarah wrote). Flynn joins the Waggley Tail Club at Twala Trust, a group of older dogs who live out their retirement in the comfort of the Twala Trust sanctuary. Thanks to you, we’re supporting Doggy Tuesday food and other running costs so that Twala Trust can continue to help pets and people in highly impoverished Goromonzi District of Mashonaland East Province, a part of the world already severely impacted by the US freeze in foreign aid.
Foreign Aid Freeze, Animal Welfare, & AKI
You asked: Is the US cut in foreign aid affecting Animal-Kind International and the animal welfare organizations AKI supports?
The US Agency for International Development doesn’t fund Animal-Kind International (animal welfare is not part of their mission). But as many of you know, I’ve worked for USAID in various capacities, on their biodiversity/environmental conservation programs, and whenever I went overseas for USAID, I took time out to visit animal welfare organizations (our Partners, Grantees, and others). So yes, indirectly, the layoff of all staff and freeze on funding affects AKI (one of our very generous supporters offered a flight in 2025 to check on our Partners!!!! Amazing!) That impact is minor: we’ve worked with our Partner Organizations for SO long, we know them SO well, we are less worried about our ability to visit them than we are about the effects on our supported organizations and the animals.
Many of our supporters are (or were!) in some way affiliated with USAID.
For people who work directly or indirectly for USAID, uncertainty abounds,
their lives have been turned upside down and
of course that = financial uncertainty and that = decreased donations (and as always, animal welfare is the 1st to suffer).
When expats have to leave a country with little time to prepare, they may not be able to take their pets (horribly sad and upsetting, but that’s reality). That means more cats and dogs turned over to shelters that are usually ill-equipped to handle the influx. Also, expats supply a powerhouse of volunteers for many of our supported organizations, and those volunteers are now leaving their countries of residence and returning to the US. And, As Zimbabwe is already experiencing, the loss of USAID projects and jobs makes a country poorer and that means animals and animal sanctuaries (e.g., our Partner Twala Trust) suffer.
Yes! Wholesale elimination of the US’s foreign assistance program will
have repercussions that we can’t yet imagine and some of those
will affect AKI and our supported organizations…and ultimately,
cats, dogs, donkeys, and horses in some of the poorest countries!
If you are a monthly donor, did you receive your end-of-year monthly donor message? If not, email me!
Have you read our 2024 Annual Report?
As always, we are so grateful for your kind support, and during these times of extreme uncertainty, we are humbled by your generosity and kind words,
Karen Menczer, Founder/Director
& the Animal-Kind International Board
All the information you need to donate and to upload a photo to be made into a digital, one-of-a-kind Pet Portrait, is at the link above.
Our Partner Organizations work in Uganda, Namibia, DR Congo, Ghana, South Sudan, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Honduras, and Jamaica. You can donate to AKI’s general fund or designate your donation to one or more of our Partner Organizations.
Our 2024 (7th annual) Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program grantees work in: Kenya (2 grantees), Tanzania (2 grantees), South Africa (4 grantees), Rwanda, and Israel.
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 are used to support our Partner Organizations & our Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program.