Press Release

[Guest guest]

* *Hello friends - Please read this press release - of our update -

Activities and support.

 

regards,

 

Praveen

 

* *

*PRESS RELEASE*

 

* *

 

*H*elping *O*rganisation for* P*eople, *E*nvironment (*HOPE*) *and Animal

Trust *is a small non profit organisation working for human beings and

Animals for their welfare since year 2000. Now after 5 years of our hard

work, we have developed our infrastructure base at Khunti, which includes a

training centre for rural community, Gaushala and shelter for street dogs

with a clinic and operation theatre. The Gaushala can house around 20 cows

apart from that our dog shelter can provide care for up to 40 stray dogs. We

are aiming to work for the street dogs welfare and run the ABC program to

control the increasing population and also to control the rabies by

vaccinating the street dogs in Ranchi District.

 

We never got support form Government of Jharkhand, neither from any big

funding agency. We have been always doing our activities with very minimum

funding support. Most of our funds are generated through our various

*innovative

and creative fund raising activities*. Since last more than four years we

have never stopped our activities for Street Dogs inspite of rejections from

Government or International funding agencies.

 

In the month of June - we got an opportunity to attend Animals Asia

conference in Singapore. Looking at our efforts in this field, one of the

Australia based organizations donated Rupees 100,000. Also One of the NRI's

supported us with Rupees 100,000 for the shelter construction work. We

really worked hard for last whole year and raised more than 100,000 rupees

through *Mr. Praveen Ohal's *Book, * " Asia on Foot " , *which is our all time

fundraising tool. In all we spent more than *Rupees 300,000 for the overall

infrastructure at Khunti.*

 

In whole Jharkhand this is the first of it's kind that any organization has

done progress without any major funding support in the field of animal

welfare. Our main aim is to become self sustainable so that we don't wait

for funds when in need. We have ambitious plans ahead, the training centre

would generate enough funds to support the Animal Shelter run it's

activities at a sustainable basis. We also have plan To set up a joint old

age home, orphanage linking to the animal shelter, to give love, affection

and companionship to each other.

 

*Our dog shelter *can provide care for up to 40 stray dogs - 70 feet long, 6

feet high and 15 feet wide, with 20 concrete kennels. Each kennel is 3' wide

x 5' long and houses one dog. Our shelter has all services and utilities

(ie, water, electricity- will be soon, heating) A caretaker family lives on

the site and a member of the family is available to care for the dogs at all

times

 

Since long we were trying to get support from Municipal Corporation to make

use of the available infrastructure (newly built shelter and dog catching

squad) – which hardly used for the purpose it is built. We have tried for

funding but the corporation does not have funds to run the spay/ Neuter

(Animal Birth Control- ABC) program for the street Dogs.

 

Finally when we convinced RMC that we would not require funds to carry ABC

and Rabies vaccination program, rather we would raise funds by our own and

help RMC and city or Ranchi to solve the problem of increasing population

and rabies danger, we would only require the animal shelter and the dog

catching squad. For dog catching – there is a three-wheeler man pulling

" rickshaw " . This shelter is not at all with many facilities – there is no

provision of electricity.

 

On 2nd January we received a letter from Ranchi Municipal Corporation from

the New Administrator for using all available infrastructure.

This was really exciting for us though we have the infrastructure built at

Khunti at this moment we do not have funds to run the similar program at

Khunti.

 

We are very much clear on our *strategy *and we are now in ACTION we will be

concentrating *one area at a time *and would complete the *ABC and rabies

Vaccination *program for total dogs in that area. This time we have

selected *Anantpur *– near *overbridge *– *on 5th of January *we caught 5

dogs and operated them on 6th – Again on 7th we caught 5 dogs and operated

four only on 8th. The operations were carried out by our *trustee Dr.

Ravindra Kumar *(*Junior Scientist cum Asst. Professor at Kanke Medical

College*). We are using funds raised during a picnic organised on 1st

January 2006 and with the same funds we have *operated 9 dogs *in the first

phase. For *verification* please visit the *RMC's Shelter*.

 

*We have a request to the residents of each area (at present ANANTPUR) that

whenever we come to their area – they should support by contributing

whatever they can for carrying this activity unless your area becomes rabies

free.*

 

We are looking forward for a funding to carry the ABC program at our

surveyed areas. Also we are looking forward for a dog catching vehicle.

 

I am confident with Vehicle and medicinal support we can also organise the

camps and awareness programs in the town to make people aware and go for

adoptions.

 

*Even though a dog is considered a man's best friend*, today, stray dogs are

viewed as a major menace – both in terms of hygiene and risk of rabies. The

burgeoning population of Ranchi has resulted in congestion and has reduced

free spaces available for humans, let alone dogs. Unfortunately, visibly

sick dogs flocking rubbish dumps is an all too common sight. Due to this

scenario of diminishing space and limited food availability, the cities can

ill afford to support an ever increasing population of dogs. Small pups and

larger dogs die of both hunger or are regularly run over and left to die.

There are few to worry about their fate.