In this AKI Blog post, Ekwa reviews the SA-DRC activities that were funded by AKI's 2018 Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program.
Focusing on our first intervention axis which is "Promoting pets", Save Animals applied for a grant from Animal-Kind International for the following activities:
- Organize the Dog Walk, which had the following objectives:
a) Announce the walking tour to take place in Kinshasa-Matadi-Lumbashi.
b) Protest against consumption of dogs and cats in the DRC and popularize this campaign.
c) Show to the population the importance of walking in the life of dogs.
- Vaccination Test Phase (vaccinate 30 pets (dogs and cats) for free against rabies). This activity aimed to:
a) Help Save Animals make a first step towards creating a database of dogs and cats in Kinshasa.
b) Measure the demand for rabies vaccine before planning a large-scale vaccination campaign.
c) Try to save some animal life as well as those around them.
The selection criteria for this activity were poor areas of the city where people have never vaccinated their animals since it is expensive or considered a luxury.
- Hold a press conference to which Ambassadors of foreign countries, the competent authorities, and the press will be invited.
a) To help Save Animals reach a wider audience and also draw the attention of local authorities.
Specifically, the grant from Animal-Kind International was used as follows:
-Dog Walk
On the one hand, because of the lack of resources Save Animals had for carrying out this activity and on the other hand the prices of the vaccines and the work of the veterinarian, we decided not to use money coming from the AKI grant to cover this activity. Instead, Save Animals used only the money which came from the contributions of the members for this activity.
- Vaccination Test Phase
This grant was used to vaccinate 30 pets (dogs and cats) at a cost of US$10 for a vaccine ($300 for 30 pets) and paid $ 50 for the veterinarian.
$10 for a vaccine
$300 for 30 vaccines
$50 for the veterinarian (consultant)
Total: $350
- The Press Conference
The grant helped us to have the national television channel (RTNC) and the radio TOP CONGO (the most followed radio in the DRC) for the coverage of the press conference and Africa TV (a television channel much followed also). The Press Conference was held on 23 April 2019 (we had to wait until all representatives returned from holiday, and then we had to wait until after elections). The costs were:
RTNC: $65
TOP CONGO: $70
AFRICA TV: $15
Total: $150
Conclusion and the degree of achievement of objectives:
A) Regarding the vaccine of 30 pets, 30 may be seen small and negligible if we see the number of dogs and cats in our capital (Kinshasa), but we will say that these 30 pets saved have great importance because for Save Animals, a single animal saved represents a huge victory.
And if 30 pets were saved from rabies, we cannot estimate the value or the number of human lives that were saved at the same time. An unvaccinated dog represents a danger not only for himself, but also for the humans who live around them.
So we will say that this grant was a big contribution and has a huge impact.
B) Regarding the press conference
This grant has contributed enormously since it allowed us to have the national channel and the radio most followed.
Just after the broadcast in these media, we received requests for interviews from other channels (Congo web TV and Numerica TV). Not to mention the phone calls, questions on our pages, potential memberships and contacts that we had after that.
The AKI grant has helped Save Animals to make a difference and we hope to receive another grant soon or be accompanied by AKI in any way.
We hope we were clear and did not make any confusions in dates or activities. We previously sent pictures of the Dog Walk and Vaccination Campaign. Here are pictures of the press conference:
[From AKI: Ekwa, you and Save Animals did a great job, not only with reporting and tracking AKI funds used, but most important, holding some innovative activities that helped animals and raised awareness of SA and animal welfare!]