Kindness to Animals has no Boundaries
December 2024
Dear Animal-Kind Friends,
Little by little, we are working towards an animal-kind world. Thank you for reading our December news.
If you are a recurring donor, did you receive your 2024 thank you/receipt? I sent all end-of-year messages out last week and I hope they ended up in your inbox. If you didn’t get yours, please get in touch and I’ll re-send it.
In the November newsletter, we told you that a kind and generous donor had offered a holiday challenge match of up to US$2500. We not only raised the match, but then, our donor increased her challenge to $3000 and we raised that, as well! Thank you to everyone who contributed: your donations were doubled and will go twice as far and do twice as good.
Looking back at 2024, we helped 22 organizations in 14 countries.
As always, we provided ongoing funding to our Partner Organizations (all local and community-based, meaning that they live and work and have a stake in the communities they serve) to support their missions. For example,
Our Pet Food Funds for Uganda SPCA, Twala Trust, and Sauvons nos Animaux provided most of their cat and dog feed needs in 2024.
We also funded Uganda SPCA and Sauvons nos Animaux shelter staff salaries since the shelter staff are the key to keeping the cats and dogs happy and healthy.
We helped the Six Freedoms-Ghana (@thesixfreedoms) create Horse Care Teams that inspect and assist at local horse stables in Accra (we provided 100% of the cost to-date, but as they expand and help more horses, we know that costs will quickly increase; horse care is expensive everywhere!)
We funded Bam Animal Clinics' community donkey vet clinics and humane saddle making training programs through 2024 (at 100% of the cost of their donkey welfare program), helping over 1000 donkeys and their owners in eastern Uganda.
And......
We supported Have a Heart-Namibia's Emergency Fund and Lifetime Care Program, Liberia Animal Welfare & Conservation Society's humane ed in schools and community animal care clinics, South Sudan SPCA's plans for the 1st spay/neuter campaign in Juba (yes, it’s a long time coming), Helping Hands for Hounds of Honduras's sanctuary, their assistance at other shelters to help raise capacity in rescue and care, and humane ed in schools (about 90% of the total cost), and Kingston Community Animal Welfare street animal feeding and vet care (about 80% of the total cost).
When we can (thanks to your support), we go above and beyond for our great Partner Organizations who go above and beyond for the animals! During my visit with our Partner, Uganda SPCA, in December, we talked about their many challenges (topmost of course, is the move to the new shelter, for which we are still awaiting approval from the National Environmental Management Authority). But meanwhile, one of the things that “fell through the cracks” was the very leaky roof of the cattery. Immediately, we provided AKI funds to get that fixed so the poor kitties won’t have to endure another rainy and cold season searching for a dry spot. The roof has been replaced (photos above), the cats are dry and warm! When it’s time, the whole cattery, roof included, can be moved to the new site.
While I was at the Uganda SPCA Haven, we also discovered that the USPCA’s scale no longer worked, so we bought a new one (photo left). For correct dosing, a good scale is very necessary! And as we did last year, we funded rabies shots for the USPCA staff (photo right) because just as important as keeping USPCA cats and dogs safe, we are responsible for keeping shelter staff healthy and safe, as well!
This year, we were able to respond to several emergency situations when our Partners and Grantees were desperate for help and had no place else to turn:
We funded a new electrical system for Nairobi Feline Sanctuary when theirs failed after heavy rains and floods.
We funded donkey shelter repairs at Kenya SPCA Naivasha, which allowed them, in November, to rescue about 200 donkeys from the illegal skin and slaughter trade and will enable additional rescues, as needed.
Thanks to a generous donor, we were able to provide the funds that Starting Over Sanctuary needed for vet care for donkey Deborah, who was rescued in Gaza by soldiers who walked 5 kilometers with her to the border where she could cross over. She was pregnant when she arrived at Starting Over Sanctuary and gave birth to Bezik, who was born prematurely and with a shorter lower jaw than the upper and needed to stay at a vet clinic for several days before his survival could be ensured. He also had a congenital condition that required a complex repair of his leg. Having received the best of care, little Bezik is now a healthy and lucky donkey.
We provided the funds that Sauvons nos Animaux (Democratic Republic of Congo) needed to construct the remainder of the upper perimeter wall after the tin fence blew down and neighbors threatened to have the shelter shut down if there was no separation wall between the community and shelter.
We provided Uganda SPCA with funding to spay/neuter the backlog of 43 cats and dogs who had been rescued and were living at the shelter, but hadn't yet been sterilized.
And we purchased a tuk tuk for Twala Trust when they told us their utility pick-up truck was no longer operational.
And we’ll start off 2025 with an act of animal-kind[ness] by rushing the 1st disbursement of 2025 to our Partner Kingston Community Animal Welfare, who has seen a surge in the street cat and dog population and needs emergency funding to get everyone spayed and fed.
Photo: These dogs live at a car repair yard in Kingston, where Deborah (KCAW) recently stopped and discovered them and a young man, a mechanic, who tries to feed and watch over them. But he has limited means. The adults are wild, and there are 13 puppies, all with mange, all need to be spayed (and neutered at some point), and they need more food! The good news is that the young mechanic “seems to love the dogs and was happy to get the help with food” ~Deborah
And more good news: Animal-Kind International can help!
Towards an animal kind year…..
amaTrac uluntu in South Africa completed their Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Project with 33 equines castrated humanely, demonstrating the safety and that the procedure results in much less suffering and death (all 33 survived and are thriving) than other methods of castration. (Three of our 2024 Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Projects have now been completed, seven are ongoing)
Thanks to some incredibly generous AKI donors, we were able to top-up three of our Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grantees with additional funding: Starting Over Sanctuary (as mentioned above, vet care for rescued donkeys); SPCA Grahamstown (the additional funding will allow them to continue—for several months— to spay/neuter, vaccinate, and provide other vet care and their quality individual services as they go door-to-door in disadvantaged communities in South Africa); and Tanzania Small Animal Veterinary Organization (they’ll be able to continue responding in “problem” areas by providing trap-neuter-vaccinate-return and support for animal welfare clubs on university campuses).
Help spread animal-kindness: Hound Planet is a website with cute, fun, and functional gifts for animal lovers and pets, as well. Not only that, 100% of the proceeds go to the US non-profit organization, “The Hound Compassion Project.” it’s not just for the holidays, animal-kindness is year-round and we love that they help the hound! And the founder has a special place in AKI’s heart.
We’re a 4-star charity on Charity Navigator and a 2024 Great Nonprofit on the GNP site!
Thank you so much, you’ve made 2024 a kinder year for animals. We hope 2025 will see a surge of animal-kind[ness]. Certainly the world could use it. THANK YOU.
Karen Menczer, Founder/Director
& the Animal-Kind International Board
All the information you need to donate and to upload a photo to be made into a digital, one-of-a-kind Pet Portrait, is at the link above.
Our Partner Organizations work in Uganda, Namibia, DR Congo, Ghana, South Sudan, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Honduras, and Jamaica. You can donate to AKI’s general fund or designate your donation to one or more of our Partner Organizations.
Our 2024 (7th annual) Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program grantees work in: Kenya (2 grantees), Tanzania (2 grantees), South Africa (4 grantees), Rwanda, and Israel.
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.