Kindness to Animals has no Boundaries
November 2024
Dear Animal-Kind Friends,
See you in Uganda for Giving Tuesday
I’m writing this from Ituri Province in Congo, and although I’m in the eastern part of the DRC, it’s still too far and too dangerous overland— even combined with flying—to reach our Partner Sauvons nos Animaux. Instead, after I finish working here, I’ll travel home through Entebbe, where I’ll stay for a week, to be with our Partner Uganda Society for the Protection & Care of Animals for Giving Tuesday in Uganda on December 3. I’ll post videos from there on our AnimalsInternational YouTube channel and on our social media pages.
For us, Giving Tuesday is the start of holiday donations, and this year, Giving Tuesday comes late, making it a short fundraising season which means that we have to move fast! A kind and generous donor has offered a holiday match of up to US$2500. For every dollar donated between now and December 31, she will donate an equal amount up to $2500—your donation will be doubled!
Thank you for reading our November newsletter.
2024 Achievements, 2025 Commitments
Evaluate us on our 2024 achievements, but donate to us so we can fulfill our 2025 commitments:
Thanks to AKI’s Shirlee Christensen Memorial Pet Food Fund, the ~100 cats and dogs at the Sauvons nos Animaux shelter have been well-fed.
We’ve paid shelter workers’ salaries.
We’ve covered other operational costs (vet and shelter supplies).
We responded to SnA’s plea to fund the construction of a wall along the upper part of their shelter, where the metal fence blew down. This became especially important when neighbors complained that they were in fear of dogs escaping from the shelter. The wall is being built now, as I write this!
When no other organization stepped forward to support SnA’s Animal-Friendly Kids Camp-2024, we did!
For 2025, we committed to our Partner SnA, which runs the only shelter in Congo, that we’ll continue covering cat and dog food, salaries, improvements at the shelter, and other needs as they arise and to the best of our ability.
We funded 10 Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grantees this year, whereas in previous years we’ve funded 8 or 9. There was just so much need, we couldn’t turn away from the opportunity to help more donkeys, horses, dogs, and cats (also see more about our grants below).
We are committed to supporting at least 9 Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grants in 2025.
The USPCA used money from the Elaine Law Memorial Pet Food Fund to purchase cat and dog food for their ~350 shelter pets (except for the food received in-kind and for kennel sponsorships, this covered all the pet food for 2024).
We funded shelter staff salaries and other costs (e.g., transportation, utilities) to keep the USPCA functioning in 2024.
When the USPCA told us they had a backlog of 45 cats and dogs, recent rescues, who hadn’t yet been spayed or neutered, we sent funds to get the job done!
We are committed to our Partner USPCA to support them at the same funding level (food, salaries, operational costs)—or given inflation, preferably higher. Also, the USPCA needs a vehicle, their old bakkie (pick-up truck) no longer runs; without a working vehicle, they’ve had a difficult time responding to the many requests to rescue cats and dogs. We hope to come to the rescue of the USPCA and provide the funds to purchase a vehicle!
Our Elaine Law Memorial Pet Food Fund provided the dog food for our Partner Twala Trust’s Doggy Tuesday, take away doggy bags too, and dry dog food to leave behind on Twala Trust’s community visits.
Earlier this year, when Sarah told us that the Twala Trust bakkie was no longer safe to drive, we sent funds to purchase a motorbike and wagon (photo below).
We made a commitment to again support the dry dog food that Twala Trust uses for Doggy Tuesday (~600 dogs/week), community visits, and for their group of seniors, the Waggley Tail Club.
Sarah wrote to us that “The 3-wheeler motorbike is doing around 750 miles each month, collecting animal feed, transporting equipment to Doggy Tuesday and around the sanctuary, ferrying firewood, and it also makes a great staff taxi! It uses about a third of the fuel of other vehicles, so it is a huge saving for us as well as being extremely versatile and reliable.
AKI Blog: November (More About 2024 Achievements & 2025 Commitments)
AKI Blog posts are more detailed updates about our Partners and Grantees.
Recent cat and dog rescues in Kingston, Jamaica: Deborah Binns (Kingston Community Animal Welfare) has faced many challenges in her decades of helping animals in Jamaica. This AKI Blog post includes one of Deborah’s recent and most difficult cases, as well as so much good news.
As the only organization on-the-ground helping street cats and dogs in Kingston, we are committed to supporting KCAW’s pet food and vet care, including spay/neuter in 2025.
Providing Emergency Vet Care in Namibia: Have a Heart & AKI: All nine AKI-HaH Emergency Fund cases profiled in this AKI Blog post have happy endings (like kitty Mercy’s, pictured below)!
Each year, HaH fully expends the money we send for the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund. We will continue to support this fund at least at the level we have in 2024.
The Six Freedoms-Ghana Horse Care Teams & A Ceremony: We’re supporting the creation of The Six Freedoms’ (@thesixfreedoms) Horse Care Teams which will encourage Ghana’s horse community to exchange knowledge, apply new, proven methods of care and training, report early if they see a neglected horse, and get quick care to horses-in-need. This effort is the 1st of its kind in Ghana.
We are committed to supporting the work of the Horse Care Teams in 2025.
For 2025, we’re also committed to supporting our other Partner Organizations: Bam Animal Clinics-Uganda (donkey welfare program), Liberia Animal Welfare & Conservation Society (humane ed and remote animal care clinics), South Sudan SPCA (spay/neuter), and Helping Hands for Hounds of Honduras (old age and hospice sanctuary for cats and dogs and humane ed).
Recognizing our generous supporters
Recently, we received donations that designated two of our 2024 Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grantees and allowed us to top up their grants:
One is to SPCA Grahamstown in South Africa and will build on their current grant which is for spaying/neutering, vaccinating, de-parasitizing, and providing vet care in impoverished areas around Makhanda/Grahamstown. This additional donation gives SPCA Grahamstown the funds and flexibility to do even more.
With the additional grant, dogs like Nonjana will receive the care they need. The vet discovered that Nonjana had mammary tumors.
We were also able to top-up our grant to Starting Over in Israel (story in our October AKI newsletter) to cover the vet costs of a mama donkey and her baby rescued from Gaza.
THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THESE—AND TO ALL—OUR GENEROUS SUPPORTERS!
As you can see, this year, we’ve confronted many challenges and have responded to many opportunities to help cats, dogs, donkeys, and horses, supporting 20 organizations (plus two additional ones through our Friendly Audit mentorship program) in 14 countries.
Together, and only thanks to your support and kindness, we’re changing the world for the better for animals.
Thank you,
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.
AKI has Partner Organizations 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.