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Kindness to Animals has no Boundaries October 2024 Dear Animal-Kind Friends, Need a break from the constant news stream, so much of it bad news? I promise: This month’s newsletter will make you smile, I hope it will make you feel good about supporting Animal-Kind International, and I believe it will make you feel happy that so many people are helping animals in so many ways. AKI Grants to African Animal Welfare Organizations Our 2024 Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program is supporting 10 grantees this year. Every one of them gives us hope and we’re so grateful that we can be a part of their work. Below are brief summaries of their recent efforts and the progress they’ve made thanks to your support to AKI! The grant projects are also described on this page on our website. AmaTrac uluntu, South Africa: AmaTrac held their first donkey castration day (with more to come). Fifteen donkeys were professionally castrated by the Stutterheim and Fort Beaufort State Vets and the Kieskammahoek CCS vet with assistance from two para-vets and remarkable volunteers. That’s 15 donkeys (including those in the photo below) who will never have to experience the pain and face the possibility of infection and even death from being castrated by amateurs without sedation and pain meds. AmaTrac’s castration days are also an opportunity to demonstrate and explain the benefits of professional castration to other donkey owners. Blind Love, South Africa: Ongoing farrier outreaches for cart horses in Thaba’nchu, part of the ‘Letsema - Working Together’ grant project, not only gives cart horses new shoes, but is also an opportunity to educate owners on proper hoof care and how diet affects their hard working horses’ hooves and overall welfare. All horses that attend are checked for health issues, harnesses are checked, minor wounds are cleaned and treated, and horses are treated for internal and external parasites. Farrier outreaches will continue throughout the 6-month grant project. Kenya SPCA started the repair work on their donkey shelter this month. They had planned to begin in September, but it was impossible with 140 rescued donkeys and limited space for quarantine, vet needs, and storage. By the end of September, many of the donkeys were relocated so that work could begin. And then KSPCA discovered that they needed to work even quicker than planned: 95 donkeys were seized in two separate cases (the ejiao trade) and were awaiting transfer to the KSPCA shelter. Lake Zone Animal Welfare Organization, Tanzania: Little Paws Big Hearts, South Africa: Dog houses will be given to over 50 dogs who have dilapidated houses or no shelter at all, including some who live at the end of chains, which will be replaced with running lines; and entrepreneurs will be trained to operate dog house building businesses. But 1st, to increase visibility and for everyone to join in the fun, LPBH is hosting a competition—and also collecting dog and cat food for their outreach work in poor communities (see the entry requirement below).   Nairobi Feline Sanctuary: NFS has completed emergency electrical repairs at their sanctuary. Read about their grant project and the 600 cats at their sanctuary. SPCA Grahamstown, South Africa: Project “Siyeza, Vukani!” started in October with a visit by the SPCA Grahamstown team to Nyongweni informal settlement in Vukani for spay/neuter sign-up. Owners didn’t need any convincing to sterilize their animals – there is such gratitude for the opportunity. But we’re not only supporting sterilization. This month, Siyeza, Vukani also removed a tumor on dog Jumbo’s head and dog Nonjana’s mammary tumors. Starting Over Sanctuary, Israel: Construction of the AKI-funded donkey shelter at the sanctuary will begin next month. But we’re also helping SoS with the cost of vet care (like everything else in Israel, it’s expensive) for donkeys and horses rescued from conflict areas. Like Deborah, who was rescued from Gaza thanks to soldiers who walked 5 kilometers with her to the border where she could cross over. She was pregnant when she arrived at the sanctuary and gave birth to Bezik (photo below), who was born prematurely and with a shorter lower jaw than the upper. Even after 2 hours, Bezik couldn't stand on his feet and couldn't suckle because of his jaw deformity. SoS took Deborah and Bezik to the vet hospital and after 24 hours, Bezik was able to stand without assistance. After five days, he learned to suckle from his mother on his own. Tanzania Small Animal Veterinary Organization: TASAVO had an “amazing mass vaccination week and awareness campaign from 25th September to 3rd October. We managed to vaccinate 35 cats and 357 dogs, treated 95 dogs and cats against ticks and fleas, sterilized 5 dogs and 3 cats, and 6 dogs and 1 cat were rescued and all of them got new forever homes. Special thanks to Animal-Kind International for supporting this special event.” TASAVO will continue to spay/neuter, vaccinate, provide parasite treatments, and rescue those in-need during this 6-month grant project.   Welfare for Animals Guild, Rwanda: WAG’s spay/neuter campaign has kicked off and they are on their way to spaying almost 100 female dogs for free, preventing over 1000 puppies being born in one year alone! The dogs will also be vaccinated against rabies, micro-chipped, and de-wormed, and dog owners educated about responsible dog ownership. “Huge thank you to Animal-Kind International for funding this project - this is our second grant from the AKI Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organisations Grant Program, and we’re so happy to be part of the AKI network again.” In The AKI Blog - October Supporting Liberia Animal Welfare & Conservation Society: Animal-Kind International has been supporting our Partner Organization, Liberia Animal Welfare and Conservation Society's, Humane Education Program and remote animal care clinics since 2016. Does Humane Education make a difference in the lives of animals and people? These kids (below: Susan with dog Poor No and Papay with dog My Dog) say, YES, it does! READ MORE HERE Congo’s only animal shelter needs us: The fence at the Sauvons nos Animaux shelter, our Partner in eastern Congo, came tumbling down in heavy winds. We want to help rebuild it and build it better! Sauvons nos Animaux needs a brick wall, a continuation of the perimeter wall that we funded in 2023 (see below). Animal-Kind International will match every donation received for the wall until we raise the full amount needed. Read about why it’s so important to build a brick wall at the shelter I took this photo in November 2023 when I was at the Sauvons nos Animaux shelter. It shows the brick wall that Animal-Kind International funded and the metal fence, which has now blown down and needs to be replaced. The cat and dog enclosures are below. Help for Donkeys in Uganda - Bam Animal Clinics: Our support to our Partner Bam Animal Clinics provides free vet care for hundreds of donkeys at each community clinic. Donkey owners leave the clinics equipped with information they need to provide improved care of their donkeys. With support from Animal-Kind International, Bam also provides training classes for owners to make and use humane sisal-sack saddles that prevent wounds and injuries. This article is about how our support is helping donkeys in eastern Uganda.   A Rescue in Jamaica We received this message from Deborah with our Partner Organization, Kingston Community Animal Welfare: “I just rescued this beautiful sweet pitty from a chicken coop where he had spent the last 3 years as a bait dog so other dogs could attack him and get more aggressive. I secretly met with a man in the squatter settlement who quickly dumped him into my car and shouted DRIVE DRIVE. I took him to the vet. He is badly bit up and has maggots all over his body. They never even tried to clean his wounds after the fights probably knowing his last fight was coming up. He licked my hand when I took him out!” HE IS SAFE NOW! “We will find a FOREVER home which I will carefully choose myself.” ~Deborah  To support Kingston Community Animal Welfare’s work helping street cats and dogs and rescuing animals, like this sweet dog, who are brutalized and never get the love they deserve, please designate KCAW for your donation here: Donate to KCAW We rely on your donations to support our work. Without your help, none of the above would be possible. I know that phrase has become a cliche, but for us, it’s a true one! The animal welfare organizations that we support have so few options for fundraising. Most foundations/grant making organizations won’t support animal welfare organizations in Africa, or Latin America/Caribbean. But because we personally know all of our Partner Organizations and because of our relationships in the countries where we work, we are one of the few organizations that can confidently provide money—knowing it will only be used to help animals— and monitor how funds are used so that we can report back to you.

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 For a donation of $15 or more, you can request a Pet Portrait. 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.