Kindness to Animals has no Boundaries February 2023 Dear Animal-Kind Friends,
(Live links have been removed, but you can always go on our website to read more.)
Many of you have been with us for years, you’ve been monthly donors and annual supporters, you’ve followed us on social media, promoted us to family, friends, and colleagues, and sent your ideas and supportive messages. We are thankful to you for this; your support has helped many 1000s of animals and the people who rescue, care for, and advocate for them, and has educated many 1000s of community members, both students and adults, about animal care and kindness.
Animal welfare/care/advocacy (whatever you prefer to call it) is a long-term endeavor; it takes the dedication of many. And along the way, it’s the small - and sometimes not so small - achievements, like those below, that keep us going, the reason we stick to it.
Animal-Kind International Blog (February 2023)
These AKI Blog articles give detailed information about what our Partners and Grantees have been doing thanks to your donations:
Helping horses in Ghana: Two-time recipient of our Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program, and now an AKI Partner Organization, The Six Freedoms (@thesixfreedoms), provided vet care, nutritious food and supplements, and grooming (tooth and hoof care) for 11 rescued horses and trained handlers in natural horsemanship (vs. the way horses are typically handled, with cruelty and brutality).
More than 1500 dogs and cats received basic vet care in Liberia: In the 1st 5 weeks of 2023, Abie, Liberia Animal Welfare & Conservation Society’s animal health care officer, was on the road (on his AKI-purchased motorbike) providing the only available health care available for cats and dogs in remote parts of Liberia.
It’s the dry season in Uganda, when donkeys struggle under harsher conditions than usual. Your support to AKI helped Bam Animal Clinics-Uganda provide vet care, humane sisal saddles (and training on how to make and use them), and supplemental feed to donkeys. (Photo: During a Bam training course, a donkey gets a humane saddle)
Sauvons nos Animaux (Congo) has been able to give the ~ 80 dogs and cats at their shelter plenty of nutritious food. But Ari (dog in Paterne’s lap, below) wasn’t gaining weight. Several people wrote that Paterne should have a blood sample analyzed; that wasn’t possible in Bukavu. But SnA was able to make changes that finally put weight on Ari. Read this AKI Blog post to see Ari's evolution and find out what SnA has been up to.
More News from our Partner Organizations
AKI Partner Uganda Society for the Protection & Care of Animals needs sponsors for their kennels! You can choose between two sponsorship levels:
Silver covers twice-daily food for the dogs in your kennel, at US$495/year (or $41.25/month).
Gold covers twice-daily food for the dogs in your kennel and the remainder for caretaker salaries, annual vaccines, and fuel for cooking, at $825/year (or $68.75/month).
The USPCA really relies on these sponsorships to help them cover costs (which are getting more and more expensive, as the USPCA continues to find it difficult to reach enough donors to cover them), and asks that kennel sponsors commit to at least 12 months of sponsorship. When you sponsor a kennel, the USPCA will place a plaque on the kennel with your name (or other message, at your request) as sponsor.
We remember Anne Marie, who died earlier this month. She was a lifelong animal lover and rescuer and adopted several cats and dogs from Kingston Community Animal Welfare. Anne Marie left behind 4 dogs and 7 cats, which KCAW took in after she died. In the video below, Anne Marie had just adopted a dog from KCAW and she gives her thanks to AKI for helping her keep her pets and keep them healthy. Anne Marie was unable to work, but she loved her cats and dogs. KCAW had them spayed/neutered, brought her pet food when needed, and got her pets to the vet when they needed to be seen; one of many great, but impoverished pet owners, who KCAW has helped thanks to AKI donors.
Seven puppies were living on the street in Yerevan with no protection from weather or people, so Nune (Save Animals-Armenia) found someone to care for them. She had a little “house” built to keep them dry and warm, and goes to them daily to bring food and clean up after them (and she’s hoping they’ll soon be adopted). Thanks to our donors who designate SA-Armenia for their donations, Nune has the funds to help these puppies, other dogs living on Yerevan’s streets, and the remaining dogs at the SA-A shelter.
More from Animal-Kind International
AKI’s 2022 Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program - Six of our 9 2022 grant projects have been completed and you can read about each one and their achievements on the Grants 2022 page. The remaining grant projects are: Pwani Animal Welfare (Kenya), Save Animals-DR Congo, and Zambezi Working Donkey Project (Zambia). By next month, we expect all of them to be finalized and we’ll post their reports on the Grants 2022 page.
Monthly donors: If you didn’t receive the email message I sent in early December with the total amount you donated for the year and information about what your donations have accomplished PLEASE GET IN TOUCH & I WILL RE-SEND IT.
Like you, non-profit organizations are dealing with increased prices, including previously free services that are no longer free; low-cost services that have increased their prices; and some programs that we so relied on that have been dropped. You’ve probably heard that Amazon will no longer donate to your designated NPO via their AmazonSmile program. The shut down of AmazonSmile will have a major impact on us; we’re hoping you’ll use Goodshop as an alternative, and that you’ll designate Animal-Kind International as Your Cause. THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS TRANSITION A LITTLE EASIER!
Our free version of MailChimp is also going away, sadly. Mailchimp will now charge a monthly fee to nonprofits that have more than 500 subscribers (down from 5000 subscribers for their free version!) We love our subscribers, and we certainly want more and more, but we’ve now moved into a paid version of Mailchimp, another cost we have to bear because we believe getting monthly reports to you is one of the most important things we do.
Our 2022 Annual Report, documenting last year’s achievements, made possible thanks to our supporters, is available on our website
For a donation of $15 or more, you can get a Pet Portrait! (see example, below)
As always, we are over the moon grateful to you for your kindness and generosity. Our success is your success, our achievements for animals are only possible because of your support. We’re in this for the long-run; we’re grateful you’ve stuck with us this far, and we hope you will continue to. Kindest Regards, Karen Menczer, Founder/Director & the Animal-Kind International Board AKI has Partner Organizations in Uganda (2 partners), Namibia (2 partners), DR Congo, Ghana, South Sudan, Liberia, Honduras, Jamaica, and Armenia. You can donate to AKI’s general fund or designate your donation to one or more of our Partner Organizations. Our 2022 grantees work in: Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa (3 grantees), Zambia, and Zimbabwe. AKI: Since 2007, helping animals and the people who care for them in some of the poorest countries. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; donations to AKI are tax deductible in the US to the extent the law allows. 100% of your donations are used to support our Partner Organizations & our Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program.