Animal-Kind International | About Us

Animal-Kind International raises much-needed funds for our Partner Animal Welfare, Rescue, and Protection Organizations. Our Partners in resource-poor countries:

Operate animal shelters;
Rescue animals from the street and from cruelty situations;
Rehabilitate them and re-home them;
Provide vet care, including spay/neuter, for pets of impoverished families and for street dogs and cats;
Help working and abandoned donkeys and horses; and
Through formal humane education in schools and communities, as well as by example, change attitudes and behaviors towards all animals.

Our Partners are dedicated, local organizations, changing the world....one animal at a time, one day at a time.

We've chosen our Partners carefully:

They are organizations we know well and have worked directly with;
They have agreed to AKI's requirements for transparency and accountability; and of course,
They are doing the lifesaving work that we all so value.

Get to know our Partners by reading our newsletters, the AKI Blog, and here on the AKI website. Once you see what they're doing to help animals, we're sure you'll want to help them too!

Minou lost in 2017 in Ntinda found in 2021 in Ntinda-June 11.JPG

The Problem We Address:

Animal welfare, rescue, and protection organizations in poor countries compete for extremely limited resources with so many other causes, raising funds internally—from government, individuals, and businesses—doesn't meet the needs. In most of the countries where we work, the animal welfare cause is just gaining momentum, but still is a very low priority (we're trying to change that!) To give animals a voice in poor countries, animal welfare organizations have to look beyond their borders for funding. That's where you and AKI come in!

We believe that strengthening existing, local animal rescue and protection organizations is the key to improving the world for animals.

Animal-Kind International raises much-needed funds for our partner Animal Welfare, Rescue, and Protection Organizations. Donate to AKI if you want to help:

Animals beyond your borders.
Animals in parts of the world where your donation really makes a difference.
Effective animal rescue and protection organizations, whose only constraint is limited funding: grants, foundations, and a realm of other programs available to animal welfare organizations in many wealthier countries are not available to animal welfare organizations in Africa and other resource-poor regions.

We subscribe to the One Health concept, a collaborative, multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary approach — working at the local, regional, national, and global levels — with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment. While working within this framework, our specific focus is animal welfare.

Read what people are saying about AKI

To read reviews of AKI and to write your own, please go to:

http://greatnonprofits.org/org/animal-kind-international

March dogs at garage where Deborah had to use catchpole to capture dog with wound .JPG

Sarah with Twala Trust-Zimbabwe, a 2022 recipient of our Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program:

"The gratitude we all feel for this generous support is immense - it has provided so many dogs with nutritious food, and been a tremendous relief to us to be able to feed the dogs as they need, and deserve. The happiness and positive outcomes of our Doggy Tuesday programme are so important to our community, both the people who rely on their dogs for security and companionship, and for the beautiful dogs themselves who despite their hard rural lives are always such a delight to see with their tails wagging in anticipation as they head down the road for their weekly feast.

Thank you for Animal-Kind and all that you achieve; it is truly the most inspiring organisation making a genuine difference on the ground."

Dr Rumbi, previous Botswana SPCA veterinarian, a 2022 AKI Grant Program recipient:

"Thank you so much for the work you are doing. It has such a positive impact not just in the communities that end up receiving help but also for the organisations that receive the grants. I have been at the BSPCA for 2 years and it was really awesome to be part of this project. It was truly motivating to see the staff working together for this cause and I am really glad we managed to complete the grant successfully."

Michelle, Chairperson, SPCA-Grahamstown, a 2022 AKI Grant Program recipient:

"Attached please find our final report for the "Who Let the Dogs Out" project. It has been a long road, but the end result is just fantastic and we will forever be indebted to AKI and its supporters for their generosity and kindness. It is incredible to see the work that AKI is involved with and the reach that you have globally - including Grahamstown

now!"

AKI Supporter, Marian:

".....it is a movement and that's what we need, everywhere. Normalising a love and respect for our fellow creatures. Making them very visible in a positive way. Paterne [Sauvons nos Animaux] is brilliant! Please thank him from me. And so is AKI - thank you for all the amazing work you do in so many countries."

AKI Supporter, Maureen:

"To think that each and everyone of them was abused and viewed as garbage is heartbreaking. But because of AKI so many of these amazing creatures are getting saved and the people are learning to respect their animals more. I am very respectful of the work AKI does!"

Valerie with Lakes Animal Friendship Society, Canada:

"Oh my GOSH - what you do is outstanding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND, oh my GOODNESS, it was fantastic to see LAFS mentioned in your incredible newsletter amongst ALL the outstanding things you guys do!"

Geesche with Have A Heart-Namibia (pictured above), an AKI Partner:

"Thank you AKI for making it possible for Dr Erna to help Layla! Without the AKI Emergency Fund, Layla's future would have looked different. She was homeless and alone when she needed help most, but because Dr Erna knew the AKI Emergency Fund would cover Layla's medical expenses, she was able to operate on her, save her life. Dr Erna sponsored Layla's after care, accommodation and food at the clinic until Lalya found a new home where she is much loved! THANK YOU AKI AND SUPPORTERS! Layla and everyone owe you big times for helping a little dog somewhere in Namibia! Here the saying 'helping one dog won't change the world but the world will change for this one dog'

definitely fits!"

Edu Paw, Cape Town, South Africa:

"Hero in my Hood received a grant from Animal-Kind International for educational material and we were so privileged and excited to hear that Edu Paw would be one of the recipients. We have been using the Activity Books for some time now and are thrilled to receive and see these amazing colouring books for the first time. Every page contains a lesson in proper Canine Care. Thank you Hero in my Hood story activity books and Animal-Kind International. We are so grateful. The kids enjoy the fun activities and will benefit further as we take them on a learning journey through these beautifully illustrated colouring books."

Pilar with Helping Hands for Hounds of Honduras, an AKI partner:

Animal-Kind International has consistently supported Helping Hands for Hounds of Honduras. AKI helps not only with financial support to treat, vaccinate and spay/neuter abandoned, sick and injured dogs and cats, they also help with food, construction, and paying people to help with the cleaning and upkeep of the shelter. Knowing they are there to support and give advice is a big plus in a country with little regard for animals left to die on the streets. They respond quickly to any inquiries made by tourists about animal welfare here.

Deborah with Kingston Community Animal Welfare, an AKI partner:

"If animals in Kingston Jamaica could talk they would pick up a phone and call Karen Menczer to say THANKS FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS! And.. IF they could get visas, she would have thousands and thousands of grateful dogs, cats, goats and every other 4-legged animal at her door to hug and kiss her! Animal-Kind International is wonderful, simply wonderful....we won't forget her, ever."

Brigitte with Uganda Society for the Protection & Care of Animals, an AKI partner:

"Without all your [AKI] support and donors, I am not sure if the USPCA would still exist today!"

Rachel Kabue with Nairobi Feline Sanctuary, an Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grantee in 2020 and 2021:

"I was thinking about you yesterday and feeling so grateful for the wonderful foundation you helped us build. We are now at 350 cats and more importantly, we are now cage free! We have also been featured twice in two major papers. This has helped us educate the public about animal welfare. We also started a children's education and open program and it's doing well so far. The adults attending learn a lot too. Thanks once again for your help, we couldn't have gotten this far without Animal-Kind International."

Animal-Kind International’s Core Values

Our core values influence all we do:

• We believe that animal welfare has no boundaries.

• We believe that improving the conditions for animals goes hand in hand with improving the conditions for people in our AKI partner countries.

• In all we do, we show respect and understanding for the human community because we understand that working in animal welfare in AKI countries means working with the people who so rely on their animals.

• We believe that our partners are best positioned to decide on their strategy and activities, and on how to use their funds. We do not dictate; our role is to oversee the use of AKI funds to ensure they are used wisely for animal welfare purposes.

Animal-Kind International’s Strategy for Forming Partnerships with Organizations in Resource Poor Countries

AKI has high standards for the organizations we choose to form partnerships with. We look for these attributes in our partners:

Local: We partner with organizations that are rooted in the local culture, either founded by local people or longtime residents, who respect the local culture and work within its norms to improve conditions for animals in their country.
Community based: We partner with organizations that work at community level, and work mainly from bottom-up because we believe that lasting change happens when local people are behind it and advocate for it.
Sustainable: We partner with organizations who use funds efficiently and effectively, have programs that are worthy of broad support from the international community, and whose work has the potential to bring about lasting changes in their countries.

Animal-Kind International’s Strategy for Ensuring our Integrity and Sustainability

Due diligence: We conduct ongoing due diligence of our Partners to ensure that funds, supplies, and other support is used solely to further animal welfare. Due diligence includes regular reports and receipts from our partners and site visits by the Board and our network of supporters, in conjunction with other work that takes us to AKI Partner Organization countries (this is at no cost to AKI).
Minimize overhead, maximize contributions: We conduct our business with minimum overhead, and to this end, currently we provide 100% of donations to our Partners (donations may only to be used for overhead costs if a donor states so); and we will avoid bank fees and high postage costs by sending funds and supplies with our network of supporters and by using other low/no cost and secure means.
Grow slowly and smartly: Although there are many worthy organizations, AKI will only add Partners to the AKI network based on the AKI budget, while not compromising our due diligence and support of existing Partners.
Communicate widely: We will communicate with AKI Partners on a regular basis so we remain aware of and updated on their activities. We will communicate with our donors on a regular basis so that they are aware of how their funds are used, and so that they truly become partners in AKI’s global animal welfare efforts. We will communicate with the media, the animal welfare community, and others to spread the word about the great work that our AKI partners are doing.