AKI Partner Organization-Twala Trust, Zimbabwe
AKI's Partnership with Twala Trust
Twala Trust was a recipient of our Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program in 2022 and 2023. And now, Twala Trust, located in the Goromonzi District of Mashonaland East Province in Zimbabwe, is our newest Partner Organization!
What we love most about Twala Trust is that they promote-in a sensitive and caring manner-- respect and optimal care for all dogs, no matter if they have many years ahead of them or are in their twilight.
The only sanctuary of its kind in Zimbabwe, Twala Trust cares for over 400 rescued animals at the sanctuary. Twala Trust runs a free community vet clinic and dog feeding program known as Doggy Tuesday. Doggy Tuesday has grown from 4 dogs at the 1st clinic in 2014, to around 600 dogs now attending Doggy Tuesday each week.
Twala Trust also runs a mobile veterinary and feeding service to assist elderly owners of dogs and to reach homesteads in more remote areas, especially those unable to attend Doggy Tuesday.
Photo above: Filling a bag with dry dog food; at weekly Doggy Tuesday events, Twala Trust sends supplemental food home for puppies, older dogs, and undernourished dogs. The additional food is especially important for these most vulnerable dogs and ensures they will have nutritious food to last until the next Doggy Tuesday. Goromonzi is primarily rural, with five villages in the immediate vicinity of the sanctuary. The local people are mostly unemployed or under employed with no formal means of income.
Doggy Tuesday
Twala Trust's Doggy Tuesday program takes place every Tuesday at the main gate of their sanctuary, where they set up a temporary shelter for vet checks, and staff and volunteers stand ready with 1,000 liters of food that they've cooked for the dogs, plus supplementary dog biscuits and dog meal (dry dog food) bagged for take home. Twala Trust teams man stations where they assist with flea and tick treatments in a dip bath, administer deworming tablets (given monthly), and fill up water bowls. There's also a library area for children to use while they wait for their dogs to be checked by the vet.
On Doggy Tuesday, dogs receive vaccinations against rabies (annual), and if funds allow, against distemper and parvovirus. Veterinary care is provided for illnesses and injuries, no matter what treatment is required, including major surgical procedures when necessary. Since Doggy Tuesday operates on Twala's sanctuary grounds, they can keep dogs at their on-site clinic if they need more complex or longer-term care. On average, Twala sterilizes 6 dogs a week, free of charge.
In the 9 years that Doggy Tuesday has been operating, the Twala Trust staff and volunteers have never missed a Doggy Tuesday! Even during COVID-19, they were given special permission to continue to operate as a "vital service to the community."
In our 1st year of the Twala Trust-Animal-Kind International Partnership, our main goal is to raise enough money to provide dog food for the ~600 dogs who attend weekly Doggy Tuesdays and for supplemental food to send home for the most vulnerable.
Click on a picture of Doggy Tuesday to learn more.........................
The Waggley Tail Club
Among the 400 residents at Twala Trust's sanctuary are over 70 elderly and disabled rural dogs, all of whom have been abandoned or surrendered due to old age, poor health, animal abuse situations, or dire circumstances experienced by their owners. This group is Twala Trust's Waggley Tail Club. The Trust provides lifelong care in a kennel-free environment for the dogs in the Waggley Tail Club.
Waggley Tail Club dogs live out their lives at the Twala Trust sanctuary with their physical and emotional needs met by experienced and dedicated staff and volunteers. While Twala does not aim to rehome these dogs, they may be placed in homes under strict criteria, including home checks and lifelong veterinary support through the Trust's Forever Foster program.
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