Uganda rescue scam, 123 proposals, & more
- Animal-Kind International
- 6 hours ago
- 5 min read
Kindness to Animals Has No Boundaries
AKI News: May 2026
We received 123 proposals during the 6 weeks that our 9th annual (2026) Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program (for Africa and Latin America/Caribbean) was open for proposals! That gives you an idea of the great needs for funding that African and LAC-based animal welfare organizations have. Proposals came in from east, west, north, and southern Africa, South and Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
After the initial screening, our Africa and Lat Am/Caribbean committees will review applications. Committee members are from Africa, South and Central America, Australia, the UK, EU, and US. A global “ecosystem”!
We’ll announce winners and post summaries of each on the Grant Program 2026 page by July 15.
Our grant program is 100% donor funded and the number of grants we award depends on donations we receive. (Here you can read about our 13 2025 grantees.) We’ve gotten some amazing proposals from such lovely, hardworking organizations and we want to support as many as we can.
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to an animal-loving friend.
We’re a member of the Animal Welfare Alliance of Uganda, a group of legitimate animal welfare organizations in Uganda, formed to fight the Uganda rescue scam by raising visibility and warning animal lovers. After a BBC investigative report aired, AWAU was able to rescue 52 dogs and 6 cats who had been living in horrendous conditions at 2 shelters in Mityana. Animal-Kind International created an emergency fund to provide the immediate vet care needs-which, as you can imagine, are substantial.
Three of the 6 cats rescued from Mityana scammers, from above left: Snow, Angus (has a lot of anger and fear), and Kalisoliso (means "one with a spying eye"). The three below are: Zoro (with a white mask instead of a black one), Calico, and Pretty.
There are more dogs and cats caught up in the scam, abused by the scammers, used to raise money—not for the animals, but for scammers—still out there and in need of vet care. After 6 years of warning people, writing articles, speaking on podcasts, being interviewed for articles, thank you for making it possible for AKI to help these animals.
We’ll continue to update you in future newsletters.
The last two of our 13 grant recipients from our 2025 Animal Welfare Grant Program completed their grant projects! Read about Blind Love’s grant project here (including the emergency top-up grant we provided) and read about Animal Welfare Society of Cameroon’s grant project here.
SPCA Grahamstown, a 4-time AKI grantee, caught the eyes of some of our supporters, who loved what they were doing and wanted to make sure they could keep providing spay/neuter and emergency vet care in impoverished townships around Makhanda. With those donors, we created the Good DOG (Dogs of Grahamstown) Fund, and we’re so pleased to announce the creation of Good DOG Fund No 3 (which also helps cats and donkeys). Thank you so much to those very kind and generous AKI supporters!
More Animal-Kind International News
We sent funds to AKI Partner Uganda SPCA to purchase a motorbike to be used for rescues. The USPCA has been without their own transport for over 2 years and without reliable transport for more than 4. After much discussion, and considering the crazy traffic in and around Kampala and Entebbe, the USPCA decided that a motorbike suits their needs best. Very soon, the USPCA will have a Rescue Mobile!
Ebola is affecting a few of our Partner Organizations, but the most immediate impact has been on South Sudan SPCA and their spay/neuter campaign, which we had to postpone. We couldn’t risk having the Kenya SPCA team travel to Juba, unable to return home if borders close because of Ebola. Plus, no large gatherings are allowed, and we intend this spay/neuter campaign to be a very large gathering! As soon as the threat of Ebola is over, we’ll be ready to hold the mass s/n campaign in Juba.
It’s not only Ebola that’s affecting our Partners, it’s also inflation, and although we’re all feeling it, Africa is the most vulnerable continent with the fewest safety nets and the highest poverty. AKI’s Partner in Ghana, The Six Freedoms, is feeling it more than most. Even in the best of times, having a horse and providing good care is expensive. Inflation has turned the expensive into the exorbitant. So we’re hoping to find sponsors for 6F’s rescued horses. Each (Arrowboy, Boga, Mr Key, and Merlin) has a history of abuse and neglect, and each one is now safe and given the absolute best care. This is Arrowboy’s (pictured above) story:
Arrowboy
Arrowboy’s story is deeply connected to the origins of The Six Freedoms. Together with Boga, he is one of only two survivors of three horses who suffered from severe open abscesses caused by wrongly administered injections in 2021. The scars on their chests remain visible reminders of this life-threatening issue.
Arrowboy was the first resident on 6F’s leased land in Langma, where, since October 2024, he has received much-needed care with free run of this green environment and regular osteopathic treatments. He has visibly recovered both physically and mentally.
Arrowboy still needs to be gelded, an expensive procedure in Accra.
From his past as a beach horse with a badly fitted saddle and harsh riding, he has painful scar tissue on his back. Therefore, he needs to remain in a safe place where we can assure he will be treated with respect and where his needs will be met.
By supporting Arrowboy, you help ensure that a horse who has survived a traumatizing past can continue his life with care and dignity.
THANK YOU!
Thanks to your support, we’re helping effective animal advocates and animal welfare organizations working in conflict areas and impoverished communities. We’ve seen so many examples of people helping animals even when their own lives are so difficult. In countries where we work, it takes just a little to help a lot. Thank you SO much for helping!
We are gratefully yours,
Karen Menczer, Founder/Director
& the Animal-Kind International Board
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 2025 (8th annual) Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program grantees work in: Kenya, Tanzania (2 grantees), South Africa (2 grantees), Cameroon, Namibia, Israel, Haiti, Honduras, Colombia, Ecuador, and Chile.
AKI: Since 2007, helping animals and the people who care for them in resource-poor areas.
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 Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program.
