AKI's Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program-2023
Our Grant Program reaches worthy Africa-based organizations, beyond our Partner Organizations, and supports them to implement high impact projects aimed at improving the lives of animals (mainly dogs, cats, donkeys, and horses, and secondarily "livestock": cows, pigs, goats, chickens). This is the 6th year that we've been able to hold the only grant program that specifically targets animal welfare organizations in Africa and that is 100% donor-funded!
Our grant program will next accept proposals in May/June 2024. We will announce opening/closing dates here, on our Facebook page, and in our monthly e-newsletters.
The 2023 Grant Guidelines are here
The 2023 FAQs are here
The 2023 AKI Grant Application is here
We selected 8 of the 55 eligible proposals we received this year. The winning organizations and their proposals are summarized below and we'll be posting their Progress Reports on this page so you can track their progress and achievements.
Grantee Progress Reports
Animal-Kind International's 2023 Grant Recipients
Twala Trust Animal Sanctuary (Zimbabwe) - This is Twala Trust's 2nd AKI grant. Their grant project, Doggy Tuesday – Keeping the Rural Dogs in Goromonzi, Zimbabwe Fed and Healthy will continue the work under their previous grant, providing food for rural dogs from low income households who attend their weekly Doggy Tuesday free
community veterinary clinic. Over 600 rural dogs in households with no formal income attend every week and for most of the dogs, the meal provided at Doggy Tuesday is the only formal meal they get all week. The benefits of Doggy Tuesday include an 80% reduction in rabies in the Goromonzi area; a 75% reduction in puppies
being born in the 5 villages where Twala has a mandate from the Veterinary Council to spay and neuter; visible
improvements in animal welfare and greater community engagement in animal welfare practices illustrated by the long lifespan of dogs who regularly attend Doggy Tuesday. The average lifespan of a rural dog in Zimbabwe is 2 years – many Doggy Tuesday participants are approaching 8 and 9 years of age.
Matabeleland Animal Rescue & Equine Sanctuary (Zimbabwe) - MARES is another two-time AKI grant recipient. This year, we are funding their grant project, Bulawayo Matabeleland Cat Sterilization Campaign. MARES will be trapping 100 feral and unsterilized cats in the Bulawayo area to reduce the numbers of unwanted kittens and to vaccinate to reduce transmitted diseases in the colonies, especially rabies. They will focus their TNVR on two Government Hospitals, United Bulawayo Hospitals and Mater Dei. With 15 acres of bush surrounding these hospitals, they support very large feral cat colonies. And since they are health facilities it's important that the cats are vaccinated and sterilized to reduce the possibility of zoonotic disease outbreaks.
SPCA Grahamstown (South Africa) - SPCA Grahamstown's Project Vala (vala means close/shut in isiXhosa and is the term used by the Xhosa community when speaking of sterilizing an animal) will sterilize at least 70 dogs in the Khayalitsha Informal Settlement (Makhanda) while providing education and healthcare to improve the welfare of these animals. SPCA Grahamstown identified this community because of the high poverty rate. Houses lack water and sanitation, and electricity was installed only last year. Most of the families live in one-room homes that accommodate several people. Most have dogs, many of them chained and with no shelter. SPCA Grahamstown will make door-to-door welfare visits to identify s/n candidates. During these visits, they will de-worm all dogs and discuss the need for fresh water and food, shelters against rain and cold, and they will discourage chaining, suggesting alternatives. Sterilized animals will also receive treatment for external parasites and get a bag of food for their return home. SPCA Grahamstown is another two-time AKI grantee and their position in the local community (physically and well-known for the work they do) means they will be able to provide ongoing follow-up to this community.
Morocco Animal Aid - Our 1st ever grantee in Morocco, we will be supporting MAA's project, Providing shelter and medical care to 550 Moroccan Street Animals. MAA's mission is to provide a humane and sustainable solution to the street dog and cat populations and their medical needs in southwestern Morocco. Our funding will support their mission by providing: 1) veterinary consultations for animals that need it most. Many street animals are the victims of road accidents, abuse, and/or have severe illnesses. MAA rescues several animals a week who need urgent veterinary attention. 2) food for the 55 cats and 490 dogs currently in MAA's care at their four shelter locations in the Agadir Area in the Souss-Massaa province (Assersif, Alma, Imsouane, and Imzi). "Food is the most basic but most important need for our animals when they arrive at our shelter. Many animals arrive underweight and in addition to medical care, nursing them back to a healthy weight is essential for a successful recovery and their overall physical health." The number of animals at MAA's shelter has increased significantly over the past year and so have our food expenses.
Tanzania Small Animal Veterinary Organization - TASAVO's Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, and Release Project will sterilize 600 dogs and cats and vaccinate 1000 against rabies. With their team of vets and along with vet volunteers from the local college, who will be trained on animal welfare, using locally designed traps, TASAVO will sterilize, vaccinate, de-worm, and notch the ears of about 10 cats and 10 dogs weekly. The animals will remain under observation and in TASAVO's care before being released back to their territory. Based on their past experience, TASAVO selected 5 focus areas: 1) Mwenge Market, Kinondoni, where TASAVO is working closely with market administrators to resolve the cat over-population problem. 2) University of Dar es Salaam, Ubungo, with many free-roaming cats and dogs attracted by the student cafeterias. TASAVO will establish an animal welfare club at the campus to educate and help raise awareness. 3) Leaders Club, Kinondoni, with many free-roaming and aggressive dogs and unsterilized cats, and where TASAVO is working with the club's leadership. 4) Dar es Salaam University College of Education, with many cats attracted to the area by the student cafeterias. 5) Restaurants and apartments, where TASAVO frequently receives requests to TNR free roaming cats and dogs.
Bubu's Animal Haven (Namibia) - We're supporting Bubu's Project Cat House and general care of lifelong residents at the sanctuary to purchase and renovate an old caravan (one of Bubu's caravans is shown below) to accommodate the sanctuary's senior cats, who have been removed from shelters, countrywide, to spend their senior years in safe, comfortable surroundings. This also allows shelters to free up space so they can accept more animals. In Namibia, where there is a huge overpopulation of cats and not enough homes available, many cats get euthanized.
Blind Love Association (South Africa) - Blind Love provides a safe, loving, forever home to horses and donkeys in
need, while improving the lives of all animals in the surrounding, disadvantaged communities through owner education and access to basic services for their animals. Their grant project, The Big Build Project will erect field shelters for all their residents, currently 12 horses and 21 donkeys, most of whom have been rescued from some sort of neglect and abuse. One of the rescued horses is 100% blind, another is losing her vision, and another was born disabled with wry nose (a congenital deformity that can cause all kinds of issues) and has only one eye. They will build 3 shelters for the horses, 2 for the donkeys, and a smaller shelter for the blind horse and her pasture buddy. In the Eastern Cape, it can rain for days on end with gale force winds. The donkeys hate the rain-their coats are not as waterproof as the horses. Some (but not all!) of the horses are happy wearing all-weather blankets.
Voluntary Education & Relief Initiative for Tanzanian Society - VERITAS will implement their grant project, Humane population control of stray dogs and feral cats by using TNVR at Western Tanzania in Kasulu-Kigoma in 5 target locations, Muzye village, Bugaga village, Nkundusi village, Nyansha village, and Nyumbigwa village, where they aim to TNVR (and deworm) about 1200 dogs and cats. VERITAS has surveyed these villages and has found many stray dogs and cats roaming around restaurants, marketplaces, and near butcher areas, restaurants, and homes. Specifically in Nkundusi, stray cats and dogs have been implicated in the killing and eating free range local chicks and community members have been known to kill the offending animals using brutal methods. VERITAS will involve community members in this work, giving them "ownership" of the project and encouraging them to continue working with VERITAS even after the grant project has been completed. (Photos below: Mr Gilbert, a VERITAS paravet; Mr Mbise Baraka, VERITAS project coordinator; Mr Alex, a VERITAS paravet; Mr Gilbert)
