Kindness to Animals has no Boundaries
August 2024
Dear Animal-Kind Friends,
Congo Travail, Uganda Travel
You can’t get there from here. Sadly, that seems to be the answer to my attempted travel to Goma and onward to Bukavu, where I was supposed to visit with AKI Partner Sauvons nos Animaux. Normally, I take a domestic (Congo) flight to Goma and catch the ferry to Bukavu. But now, in-country flights are too dangerous, I’m told. Rebels are jamming aircraft radar of flights going in and out of Goma. And you just can’t get there from here going overland. For now, my visit with Sauvons nos Animaux is postponed, but we’ll try again in November when I’ll be returning (never using AKI funds, but wearing “my other hat,” biodiversity conservation, which pays the bills) and flying through Entebbe, for a visit with our Partner Uganda SPCA....the Congo travail, Uganda travel.
While this is an inconvenience for me, it’s much worse for Sauvons nos Animaux and for most Congolese. Things we take for granted, driving to the closest city, for example, can be impossibly dangerous in Congo. That makes what Sauvons nos Animaux does — especially their Animal Friendly Kids Camp — even more remarkable. The most recent article in the AKI Blog is about just that, the 2024 Sauvons nos Animaux Animal Friendly Kids Camp, which was entirely AKI-supported this year!
More in the AKI Blog
The AKI Blog (September) also has articles about our Partners Uganda SPCA and Twala Trust Zimbabwe.
Animal-Kind International’s Support for Uganda SPCA: Read updates about the status of Uganda SPCA's new shelter, and about visitors and adoptions at the "old" Haven.
One notable achievement over the last six months is that so many kids from the local community (like the group above) have been bringing their cats and dogs to the USPCA Haven for vaccinations, de-worming, and spay/neuter. It wasn’t too long ago that instead of seeing the USPCA shelter as a friendly, welcoming place, the neighborhood kids were afraid to walk past and instead, they ran, just in case an escaping dog might chase them. Now, when they visit, the USPCA team always talks to them about being kind to all animals.
As we’ve documented over the last 4 years, the USPCA has been hard-hit financially, 1st with the purchase and construction of the much-needed new shelter, then Covid-19, then being informed that an Environmental report was required (delaying the opening of the new shelter and requiring about 2 extra years of rent at the old shelter), and now, the scammers who have been raising more money than the USPCA has!
Donors to Animal-Kind International are what is keeping the USPCA operating! The USPCA treasurer told us that “Other than AKI, the Shelter's only regular income is derived from a couple of small sponsorships and an additional amount, enough to cover the costs to National Water!”
Animal care and welfare in Zimbabwe at Twala Trust: This AKI Blog article is about Animal-Kind International’s support for Twala Trust's Doggy Tuesday (generously supported through AKI's Elaine Law Memorial Pet Food Fund). As an AKI Partner Organization, Twala Trust can use the additional funding we send for their priority animal care and welfare needs, like the Waggley Tail Club, the group of senior dogs who get to live their “golden years” at the Twala Trust sanctuary.
Exciting news from our Partner, The Six Freedoms-Ghana
AKI Partner Organization The Six Freedoms-Ghana (@thesixfreedoms) kicked off their Horse Care Teams with vets Abdul-Fatawu Alhassan (photo below, yellow shirt) and Emmanuel Oteng (green shirt), groom Edward Yeboah, jockey Alex Owuso (blue shirt), and T6F director, Ulla. The Horse Care Teams will be a real game changer for Ghana's horses. Thanks to T6F, Ghana’s veterinary sector now has a good understanding of the issues at the informal stables in Accra (and beyond) and several vets are ready to get involved with the teams. Each team will be comprised of a vet, a groom, a student (vet or similar), and Ulla or another T6F representative.
The plan for the Care Teams is 1) prevention: preventing emergencies and having a caring eye on the main Accra stables (instead of taking last minute action in emergencies); 2) information sharing: to encourage horse people to exchange their knowledge, apply new methods, and report early, if they see a neglected horse; and 3) to change mindsets to become more caring and compassionate towards their horses and [human] team members. We've written extensively of the cruelty and neglect shown to horses in Ghana (see the AKI Blog posts on that page), and we’re grateful and excited to support this initiative which promises to help MANY neglected, abused horses!
In August, the team from Asafo (horse ranch/sanctuary where many of T6F’s rescued horses stay) participated in a Royal Durbar in celebration of the 25-year reign of the Paramount Chief of the Akyem Abuakwa kingdom in Eastern Region of Ghana. The team rode escort for the Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, and other chiefs at the celebratory gathering in Asiakwa (photos below).
Above: Four of the Asafo horses rode the full day, a 35 km trail, in good spirits and without exhaustion, highlighting to the crowds and horse owners the benefits of a nutritious feeding program, correct training (vs. command and control), and humane treatment—exactly what AKI has supported T6F to provide for their rescued horses.
Sweet and bittersweet news from our Partner, Helping Hands for Hounds of Honduras
Every other morning, at 6 am, Helping Hands for Hounds of Honduras volunteer, Kelly, helps Pilar feed the sanctuary’s dogs, she cleans and fills water bowls and helps with other chores. Thanks to Kelly, HHHH saves about US$40 each week that Pilar would have to pay for a helper and the savings goes straight to HHHH cats and dogs.
Sweet! Kelly with Ash (black dog), at HHHH since a puppy, his litter mates were adopted and Ash was left behind; and Odie, rescued from the street, his leg was amputated, he’s now blind. They, like the other HHHH sanctuary cats and dogs, are older, handicapped/with health issues, and previously unwanted!
Pilar rescued Giku back in 2013 (below left). She had mange and what was diagnosed as “a nervous issue.” Pilar’s neighbor Letty adopted Giku, and they’ve lived together for more than 10 years (photo right). Recently, Giku was losing weight, so Pilar took Lety and Giku to the vet. With a blood test and ultrasound, the vet diagnosed a tumor, anemia, and an infection, and recommended only hospice care (just what HHHH is set up to do and best at). As a former HHHH dog, Dr Ordonez didn’t charge the $30 fee for these services-more savings for HHHH, but bittersweet news for Giku, Letty, and all of us who have followed Giku’s progress and many years in a loving home.
AKI news: Our YouTube Channel
Our YouTube channel, Animals International (subscribe at this link) has been refreshed, upgraded, revitalized, and updated! Relevant content from the AnimalsInternational YouTube channel now shows up at the bottom of most of our Partner Organizations’ pages and at the bottom of our home page
and videos are also on our Grants 2024 page (many more to come, as well as lots of good news from our 2024 Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Recipients in our October newsletter).
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.
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