Animal-Kind International

The Kwizera family visited the Uganda Society for the Protection & Care of Animals (an AKI Partner Organization) shelter and adopted not one but four kittens! More and more Ugandans are visiting the shelter to adopt dogs and cats (instead of going to a breeder or buying animals from sellers on the street). Ugandans are also making dogs and cats part of their family, whereas in the recent past, cats were solely for keeping pests away from the house and dogs were for protection

Working for the growth of animal welfare in Africa

by Karen Menczer

If you care about animals, something exciting is happening in Africa. Since most news stories only scratch the surface, good news about Africa is in short supply. And from climate change to habitat loss to cruelty to cats and dogs, the crises confronting animals can be overwhelming. But here’s a news story that has yet to hit mainstream media: Africa’s homegrown animal welfare organizations are blossoming, maturing, and spreading the message of compassion for animals.

Living in Africa since 1997, I had worked with animal welfare organizations and saw how they struggled to get by, yet accomplished so much with very little support. I imagined how much more they could do if they had the access to resources that we have in the west.In 2007, upon my return from Ghana to the U.S., I started a non-profit organization, Animal-Kind International.

I envisioned AKI as bridging the gap between donors in the west and animal welfare organizations that I had come to know in Africa and Latin America/Caribbean (where I had worked since 1991).AKI could help tell their stories; we could bring their challenges and accomplishments to life and to a wider audience.

The Uganda SPCA Haven animal shelter hosts groups of students as part of their Humane Education Program. These students are second year vet students at Makerere University. In the past, vets students were more interested in working with livestock than with dogs and cats--and many had no interest in small animals. That is changing, as is the attitude toward cats and dogs, as you can see in this picture

Overcoming many potholes in our path, 14 years later, we now support 11 Partner Organizations (Partners receive funding regularly that they can use for their priority animal welfare needs). We are running the only grant program specifically targeted to animal welfare organizations in Africa (grantees get one-time funding based on a winning proposal). And last year we started a“Friendly Audit” program for Africa-based animal welfare organizations, where we provide a volunteer to help strengthen administrative and technical capacities.

Karen Menczer, Founder & Director of Animal-Kind International

But as a very small organization, our support is a drop in the bucket to what is actually needed. Although no one knows the actualnumber of animal welfare organizations in Africa,the number has certainly grown significantly over the past 15 years (This can be seen by tracking the listings on World Animal Net’s directory and I can personally attest to this by the number of requests for assistance that I receive).

But funding has not kept pace with the growth in the number of organizations and their needs. Whereas in western countries, animal shelters and rescues have access to numerous grant programs, foundations, employer giving programs, and individual donors, that’s not the case for African animal welfare organizations. And while more local people are volunteering and donating in-kind (e.g., pet food), financial donations are still low due to poverty and other pressing needs in Africa.

With their young volunteers, AKI 2021 Grantee, Sauvons nos Animaux in the DRC, is setting up a space where the SnA shelter animals will be sterilized. The AKI grant will cover 6 months salary of a vet and vet assistant and medicines and supplies so that SnA can sterilize and provide other necessary care to shelter animals. SnA created a Youth Club, whose members volunteer at the shelter to learn to care for cats and dogs, some play football with the dogs, others give them a bath, and some even show an interest in veterinary work

Yet there’s still a wariness in the west about donating to Africa. This is another role that AKI plays. While animal lovers may be moved by the stories we tell and by an organizations’ challenges and accomplishments, they may not be willing to donate to a distant organization that they have no actual connection to. AKI’s role is not only as story teller and fundraiser, but also, because of our close relationships with the animal welfare organizations, we can provide the assurance to donors that donations are used for animal welfare purposes only. And we can show donors exactly what their donations were used for and have accomplished.

In Africa, the growth in animal welfare consciousness and compassion to animals can largely be attributed to young people, who learn and share new ideas through social media. Now is the time to nourish this enthusiasm and these new ideas.

As AKI, we’re so excited to be able to mentor, encourage, and provide financial support to Africa’s animal welfare organizations and to help ensure compassion for animals flourishes.

Animal-Kind International supports 11 Partner Organizations: in Uganda (two), Namibia (two), Tanzania, Liberia, Ghana, South Sudan, Honduras, Jamaica, and Armenia. AKI’s 4th annual Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program (2021) is supporting grants in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Sauvons nos Animaux), Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe (three).

Karen Menczer is Founder and Director of Animal-Kind International

www.animal-kind.org