Animal-Kind International Blog

Each AKI Blog post features an AKI Partner Organization, AKI Grant Recipient, or an individual or organization making a difference for animals in low income/resource-poor countries, where there is very little public support for animal welfare. In posts about our supported organizations, you'll also find details of how they use your donations to AKI.

Animal-Kind International

Apr 25, 2019

Have A Heart-Namibia & AKI in 2019

So far, in 2019, HAH-Namibia has used AKI funds for emergency vet care, booster vaccinations, and parasite treatments. Geesche Neuberg (HAH-Namibia) gives the details below. APRIL MOBILE CLINICS The Mobile Animal Clinic headed south this month and saw a lot of old Have a Heart customers. Especially in Luderitz, Dr. Baines was very impressed with the many healthy animals he saw. AKI plays a big part in this success. Especially in Luderitz we have a huge problem with mange, but

Animal-Kind International

Nov 23, 2018

AKI & Have A Heart-Namibia: Honoring Lindie's Memory

This AKI Blog post is dedicated to Lindie Prinsloo, the founder of HAH and the reason that an HAH-AKI partnership exists to this day. We honor her memory with our continued support for emergency care for HAH clients, parasite treatment and vaccination of previous HAH clients (i.e., during year 2 and beyond), and for spay/neuter for cats (or any other s/n funding that HAH needs). Since our last HAH post in July, this is how your donations to Animal-Kind International helped HA

Animal-Kind International

Nov 21, 2018

Namibia, August-November: What your donations have accomplished

In Namibia, Erika von Gierszewski, long-time animal welfare volunteer, oversees the use of AKI funds. We're so lucky to have her. She's on the ground, she's been involved in animal welfare in Namibia for decades, and she's very careful with how she uses your donations! Here is what your contributions to AKI have accomplished in Namibia in the last 4 months. (See AKI Blog posts about Have A Heart-Namibia to read about how they spend the $$ that Erika gives to HAH). Katatura Ve

Animal-Kind International

Jul 22, 2018

AKI in Namibia: How your donations make all the difference in Namibia

AKI in Namibia supports several initiatives, all identified thanks to Erika, long-time animal welfare volunteer, our AKI liaison in Namibia, and project manager of the Katutura Pet Care & Feeding Project. Here's an update about our support to Aranos Spay/Neuter Program, Namibia's rural SPCAs (Oshana SPCA), and the Katutura Pet Care & Feeding Project, (We also support Have-a-Heart-Namibia, a country-wide mobile spay/neuter program, https://www.animal-kind.org/single-post/2018/

Animal-Kind International

Jul 21, 2018

How you're helping Have-A-Heart-Namibia

As Have-a-Heart-Namibia finds more sponsors for their country-wide spay/neuter mobile clinic, we're finding that our AKI funds are used more often for emergency care. Which is fine with us! These are cases that would have not been able to get the very needed vet care if it wasn't for our AKI donors. HAH tries to help any pet owner who doesn't have the financial means to bring the dog or cat to a vet for sterilisation. But we also realised that there is a big need for treatmen

Animal-Kind International

Feb 12, 2018

Your support feeds and provides care for pets in Katutura, Namibia: November-February 2018 update

In Namibia, AKI helps Have-A-Heart-Mobile spay/neuter and provide vet care for animals all over Namibia; supports basic needs (food, blankets, bowls) for several rural SPCAs; and provides supplies for the Katutura Pet Care & Food Distribution Project (serving the sprawling township of Katutura, where there is no other accessible vet care). Here's how AKI donor funds have helped in Katutura from November to February. From Erika, AKI Namibia Liaison and Katutura Pet Care & Food

Animal-Kind International

Feb 8, 2018

Have-a-Heart-Mobile (Namibia) Looks Ahead to 2018 & Beyond

So that we (AKI) fully understand our partners' needs and can provide that information to you, our supporters, we talk regularly to our partners about their daily work, their challenges, their goals. But at the end of 2017, we dug deeper and asked our partners a set of questions: We told them that before answering, they should spend some time thinking about the questions, talk to their staff, volunteers, supporters, and also to us. As Have A Heart-Mobile supporters, I thought

Animal-Kind International

Oct 12, 2017

Katutura Feeding and Pet Care Project: October 2017 Update

Katutura (Otjiherero for The place where people do not want to live) is a township of Windhoek, Khomas Region, Namibia. Katutura was created in 1961 following the forced removal of Windhoek's black population from the Old Location, which afterwards was developed into the suburb of Hochland Park (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katutura). In 2006, the population of Katutura was estimated at 150,000. Although there are many middle class-type homes, the majority of the populatio

Animal-Kind International

Oct 10, 2017

A Summer of Travel & Service in Namibia

AKI has been supporting HAH since Outjo resident, Lindie Prinsloo, started this Namibia-wide spay/neuter initiative, which brings s/n and other vet services to rural parts of Namibia, where vet care had never before been available. Through HAH volunteer, Geesche Neuberg, AKI first provided funds for HAH-Luderitz, Aus, and Bethanie. Since the HAH mobile clinic began operating in December 2016, through Geesche, AKI began supporting the mobile clinic; specifically AKI is fundin

Animal-Kind International

Jun 26, 2017

How AKI Donors are Helping Under-Resourced SPCAs in Namibia

Through Erika, AKI's contact in Namibia, we support small, rural SPCAs throughout the country. These rescue and shelter organizations are faced with so many animal welfare issues, yet have such a small fundraising base. And that's why we feel it's important to help them out. Three times a year, Erika sends AKI disbursements to some of Namibia's small SPCAs, and tracks and reports on how funds are used. Usually the SPCAs use AKI money to purchase medicines, blankets, bowls, di

Animal-Kind International

May 27, 2017

Have A Heart-Mobile Update

In the last HAH blog post (Feb 2017), we introduced you to HAH-Mobile and told you that AKI agreed that HAH could use AKI funds for cat spay/neuter and for vet care (other than s/n) of all animals brought to the mobile clinic. Here's an update (March-April 2017) about some of the cases that HAH-Mobile treated and what AKI funds are being used for. Animal-Kind International is hugely important to us. It is through their ongoing support that we are able to provide services othe

Animal-Kind International

May 24, 2017

Katutura Feeding & Vet Care Project Update from Namibia

Here's an update from Katutura and Aranos about what we've been up to since December 2016 through April 2017. We wouldn't be able to do any of this if not for AKI donors. I send my thank you to them. The December spay day in Aranos, brought a surprise. Besides the 7 dogs-owned by local farm workers, whose dogs we sterilized that day (pictures below)....... we ended up with a baby aardwolf (picture below). Marzaan (my colleague's daughter and a teacher in Aranos, who organi

Animal-Kind International

Feb 18, 2017

Namibia's Have A Heart Goes Mobile

Have A Heart, the Namibia-wide effort to bring spay/neuter services to all parts of Namibia, no matter how remote, now has access to a mobile s/n clinic (pictured below)! Its maiden voyage took place in January-February 2017. Over a 2 week period at the end of January and into early February, during which the mobile unit traveled 1500 km, a total of 327 animals were sterilized (including 53 cats and 1 rabbit) and many dogs and cats were treated for everything from injuries to

Animal-Kind International

Oct 23, 2016

Dipping, Powdering, Feeding, Spaying in Namibia

We've been able to visit Katutura monthly thanks to AKI's supporters. In May during our visit, it was very windy and being in the township with no tarred roads, it was very dusty. This makes me realize that I am very lucky living in another area of Windhoek and having a proper house!!! When I get up in the morning, I turn on the tap to get water and I don’t have to walk for some time to collect water, make a fire, and then boil the water. Herewith some photos from May's dippi

Animal-Kind International

Aug 16, 2016

The Katutura Project has come FAR! (Feb-April 2016)

Along with Namibia rural SPCAs and Have A Heart-Luderitz, Aus, & Bethanie, AKI supports-thanks to our donors-Erika's Katutura Food & Vet Care Project. We last reported on this project in a January 31, 2016 AKI Blog post. Here's an update of what AKI donor funds have been used for. Erika and her small team visit Katutura, a poor township outside of Windhoek, one to two times a month (depending on availability of $$) to bring dog and cat food, treats for the kids, to dip the do

Animal-Kind International

Jul 3, 2016

Another Note of Thanks from Namibia's Have A Heart!

After many hours of organisation and more than 2,300 kilometres traveled, the Have a Heart Luderitz team of Dr. Maya, Dr. Sarah, Dr. Baines, and Geesche managed, with your very much appreciated and much needed support and the help of 8 volunteers, to change the lives of 200 animals and their owners during only three and a half days of non-stop work in Luderitz and –for the first time ever – in Bethanie! Saturday and Sunday, 28th and 29th May, we worked at the Benguela Commun

Animal-Kind International

May 7, 2016

A Note of Thanks from Namibia

Dear Animal-Kind International! Thank you for your support during our April 2016 Spay Days in Luderitz/Aus! Your support enables us to make a big difference, positively impacting on the lives of the dogs and cats we service as well as on their owners and the whole community. Ousi (below) is one of the 63 animals (57 dogs and 6 cats) we were able to help during the April Spay Days! Ousi is one of the senior dogs we got in. We were a bit worried about her as she was tired and

Animal-Kind International

Apr 5, 2016

A Dog Named Stretch

[Besides using AKI funds to support spay/neuter and doghouse construction, sometimes Have A Heart-Luderitz/Aus runs into an emergency-or a heartwrenching situation-- and they know they can use AKI funds to help out. During the September 2015 AKI Spayathon, Geesche and her team were driving around picking up dogs for the Spay Day, and in Geesche's words]: He was just walking there. I got out of the car hoping he would not run away - normally dogs in this bad stage are afraid o

Animal-Kind International

Mar 4, 2016

Namibia Has A Heart

[AKI has been supporting Have A Heart-Luderitz (which has expanded to Aus and to Karibib) for the last few years. HAH-Luderitz is part of a Namibia-wide effort (Have A Heart) to sterilize as many dogs and cats as possible throughout the country. In many parts of Namibia, no veterinary care is available--some areas are very remote, some are very poor, some are both. HAH is an effort to bring vet care, in particular, spay/neuter, to parts of Namibia where it has never before be

Animal-Kind International

Jan 31, 2016

The Katutura, Namibia Animal Care Team is Making Progress!

[Note: As part of AKI's support to Namibia's rural SPCAs, through Erika von G., we provide funds for this comunity animal care initiative in Katutura, a poor sprawling township outside of Windhoek. Erika started this initiative in response to the high number of cruelty cases in Katutura that end up at the Windhoek SPCA shelter, and because of the lack of vet care or other animal care services in Katutura.] November 2015 Visit The Katutura Animal Care Team visited Katutura on