AKI Partner Organization-Mbwa wa Africa, Tanzania
AKI's Partnership with Mbwa wa Africa, Tanzania
Sandra & Jens (photos above) founded Mbwa wa Africa Animal Rescue in 2013 as a non-profit organization based in Usa River, Meru District, Arusha, Tanzania. MwA rescues and re-homes animals in need and runs spay/neuter and rabies vaccination campaigns in the Arusha region. MwA has a shelter where about 30-35 unwanted, abused, and injured dogs and 5-10 kitties are housed and rehabilitated, and 2 quarantine kennels, where incoming animals are 1st checked to make sure they're healthy, provided veterinary treatment, and socialized before joining the shelter's general population.
MwA became an AKI Partner in January 2017. Donations to AKI have covered about 1/3 the operating costs for the MwA shelter and are used for vet care for shelter animals, cat and dog food, shelter staff salaries, shelter supplies, and maintenance and upgrade of shelter infrastructure. Although Mbwa wa Africa has received grants for spay/neuter and rabies vaccination campaigns, their shelter was significantly under-funded until we formed a partnership (although the need is still huge!).
Jens described how important the MwA-AKI partnership is: "Without AKI, we would struggle keeping the shelter running....our philosophy is to help as many dogs and cats as possible and to give them a chance when injured or in need of medical care. Campaign donations [spay/neuter and rabies] don't cover that!! Meaning without you we would have to take a dog's life to make sure he is not suffering instead of giving him a chance to recover!!! That is why we are so proud of having AKI as a partner."
The two biggest animal welfare challenges that MwA faces are the overwhelming number of street cats and dogs in the Arusha area, and the prevalence of rabies. In Tanzania, rabies kills about 1,500 people per year, most of them children.
Mbwa wa Africa is Kiswahili for Dogs of Africa.
Where Did Your Donations Go?
Mbwa wa Africa Updates from the AKI Blog
More about Mbwa wa Africa
The MwA Team: Philbert, Amoni, Maiko, Kandida, Michael, Elisa, & William (and Sandra & Jens)
AKI donors paid the full salaries of MwA staff in 2019.
These pictures below give you an idea of the animal rescue and protection work that Mbwa wa Africa deals with on a daily basis.
Picture 1: 8 small street puppies whose mother was killed in a car accident, brought to MwA in a box, dehydrated and hungry, but after de-worming, food, and water turned into a lively, 4 weeks old bunch!
Picture 2: Baraka raised two puppies, Popi and Carlos, that he found abandoned in the forest. When ready to part with them, he brought the puppies to the MwA shelter.
Picture 3: Mayello's leg was broken from rough play with adult dogs. His Maasai family couldn't afford to bring him to town to a vet. Their American neighbors came to the rescue and took Mayello to the vet. He then spent 1 week at MwA to recover before going back to his family.
Picture 4: Jefta Riwa carried his badly injured dog Faru and her 6 puppies many miles to meet Sandra at a road so that Faru could get veterinary care.
Picture 5: Scooby protected David's chickens from an intruder, who slashed her back. David brought Scooby to the MwA shelter for help. She required 3 surgeries and 6 weeks of recovery before she could return to her home with David.
Picture 6: Rico was found in the center of Arusha trying to survive on a very busy road. MwA rescued him and after only about 2 weeks at MwA, he was adopted by a wonderful family and has a new companion old, blind dog Kali.
The puppies' mother was killed in a car accident.
Mayello was playing roughly with adult dogs and in the heat of the moment they broke his leg badly. His Maasai family couldn't affort to bring him to town, least of all to pay for vet care. But luck was on his side-their American neighbors came to the rescue. Mayello stayed at MwA to monitor the healing process.
David brought Scooby to MwA because an intruder had slashed open Scooby's back during an attempt to steal chickens. Scooby was protecting his owner's property-and got badly injured in return. Thanks to MwA volunteers and AKI donors, after 3 surgeries and 6 weeks of recovery at the MwA shelter, David brought Scooby home.
Rico was rescued by MwA, spent a couple of weeks at the shelter before being adopted.
Giselle was a street dog with several injuries. MwA took her off the street to see if they could help her. One leg had to be amputated, she developed epilepsy, but that seems under control. AKI funded Giselle's surgery. She's recovering well.
Rescued and taken to the MwA shelter
Nepomuck was thrown over the MwA shelter wall. He had many health issues, but recovered.
This mama cat arrived at the MwA shelter very pregnant. She was given a safe place to raise her family. All have been adopted.
Mama and kittens rescued and brought to the MwA shelter.
Mama cat give birth to her 4 kittens in a safe place with nice people, but unfortunately they couldn't keep her there. They contacted MwA when the kittens were 2 weeks old and MwA brought the whole family to the shelter.
Pictures above:
Picture 1: Giselle lived on the streets of Arusha. Several people called MwA about her condition-one of Giselle's hind paws was smashed, the bones exposed and infected. MwA took Giselle to the shelter, where an amputation was performed. Giselle then developed epilepsy. She's taking medication for that and getting used to moving around with 3 legs.
Picture 2: This tiny puppy was rescued from a drain, where she was stuck, and brought to the MwA shelter. At the time, MwA was full, but this was an emergency....So, Maya moved in. Sandra said, "She is an awesome little dog with a very happy and kind personality!"
Picture 3: The same morning that Maya was rescued, the MwA team found tiny Nepomuck (a big name for such a little thing!) inside the shelter compound - somebody must have dropped him over the fence during the night! Nepomuck (brown pup) was only 5 weeks old and showed nervous symptoms, possibly indicating rabies (worst case), or more likely at his tender age, worms developing in his little brain. Luckily, it was the latter, certainly not pleasant, but caught soon enough, so it was treatable (It's easy to prevent with de-worming of the mother dog.) The treatment kills the worms, but causes swelling of the brain, which makes the pup go mad, short-term only, or even unconscious. Nepo went through a tough 48 hours, but he made it and turned out to be a very sweet little guy. His white friend in the picture is Malaika, who was also very sick, but also pulled through.
Pictures 4-6: The 1st kitty family arrived just before the kittens were born; the next 2 mama cats had their kittens off-site, but they were brought to the safety of the MwA shelter.