Community Outreach Programs
Buddhism Moral Education Class
"Teaching children to be KINDER to animals TODAY, is our only hope for a kinder world tomorrow."
As a part of परियक्ति शिक्षा (Buddhism Moral Education Class), initiated by Nani Bajracharya and friends, we spoke with neighbourhood children and families about kindness, empathy and respect towards animals. Besides getting acquainted about safe interaction with dogs, children also learnt that targeting birds with slingshots, stomping ants, hurling stones at dogs for no reason, is not fun at all.
As a part of परियक्ति शिक्षा (Buddhism Moral Education Class), initiated by Nani Bajracharya and friends, we spoke with neighbourhood children and families about kindness, empathy and respect towards animals. Besides getting acquainted about safe interaction with dogs, children also learnt that targeting birds with slingshots, stomping ants, hurling stones at dogs for no reason, is not fun at all.
"Project Thecho"
During our community outreach program, we counselled 34 pet owners on proper care of their companion animal such as not to chain up their dogs, make sure they have access to clean water, birth control measures, etc. We educated and urged reluctant pet owners to be companions to their animals too.
The main topics we talked about are:
The main topics we talked about are:
- Benefits of getting their dogs spayed or neutered. That it’s a surgery to be done by a certified and licensed vet.
- The ill-effects of administering human contraceptive injections (Eg: Sangini Sui) on their dogs. Those birth control shots increase the risk of uterus infection and death.
- Not chaining or locking up their dogs in crates or kennels for longer hours. It's no surprise that chained dogs often become aggressive and attack children or other people who approach them.
- Regular rabies/distemper vaccinations, de-worming, and other important issues.
"project thecho" background:
PROBLEM:
As soon as you get to Thecho, a village development committee, 13km from Kathmandu, you will see stray dogs (275+ street dogs) everywhere who are often ill-treated, afraid, and sick. The residents complain about barking dogs at night, dogs chasing kids and people on two-wheelers, attacks on children, and more. Residents see this large number of dogs as a nuisance and a threat to community safety; hence they often resort to inhumane killing of these dogs by poisoning or beating them. The community is uninformed and uneducated about animal health and behaviour; most are fearful to even approach these dogs or kindly treat them with the fear of getting rabies.
A SOLUTION:
(1) Mass dog sterilization and vaccination program,
(2) Humane education workshops in schools, and
(3) Community awareness campaigns will help to humanely reduce the stray dog population, contribute to public health and safety by reducing the incidence of rabies/ dog bite injuries and will raise community's empathy and kindness towards these street dogs.
Our goal is to create a safe, healthy, caring and rabies-free community for both humans and the homeless dogs.
OUR PLAN:
Acknowledging this issue, we are partnering with the local municipality, Thecho Newa English School, to launch this long-term project in Thecho. We plan to:
- Set up a spay/neuter camp to control the stray dog population and improve their health.
- Organize education/awareness programs in schools and community.
- Vaccinate stray dogs against rabies and distemper.
As soon as you get to Thecho, a village development committee, 13km from Kathmandu, you will see stray dogs (275+ street dogs) everywhere who are often ill-treated, afraid, and sick. The residents complain about barking dogs at night, dogs chasing kids and people on two-wheelers, attacks on children, and more. Residents see this large number of dogs as a nuisance and a threat to community safety; hence they often resort to inhumane killing of these dogs by poisoning or beating them. The community is uninformed and uneducated about animal health and behaviour; most are fearful to even approach these dogs or kindly treat them with the fear of getting rabies.
A SOLUTION:
(1) Mass dog sterilization and vaccination program,
(2) Humane education workshops in schools, and
(3) Community awareness campaigns will help to humanely reduce the stray dog population, contribute to public health and safety by reducing the incidence of rabies/ dog bite injuries and will raise community's empathy and kindness towards these street dogs.
Our goal is to create a safe, healthy, caring and rabies-free community for both humans and the homeless dogs.
OUR PLAN:
Acknowledging this issue, we are partnering with the local municipality, Thecho Newa English School, to launch this long-term project in Thecho. We plan to:
- Set up a spay/neuter camp to control the stray dog population and improve their health.
- Organize education/awareness programs in schools and community.
- Vaccinate stray dogs against rabies and distemper.
Feeding and De-worming
Project Humane Nepal team organized regular weekly feeding and de-worming program for street dogs in different neighbourhoods every Saturday afternoon for a year (2015-2016) to raise awareness in the community and to provide care to injured street dogs. Healthcare includes both food and treatment for any infections or wounds. Our focus was to interact with the community as well the children in the neighbourhood, informing them about caring for dogs in their area as well interacting safely with the dogs to prevent dog bites.
Some of the locations we have conducted these programs are given in the photo captions:
Some of the locations we have conducted these programs are given in the photo captions:
Discourse Program
Angeela and Shraddha from Project Humane Nepal facilitated a session with youths from all walks of life at SAATH to discuss the following issues:
- Adopting a street dog instead of buying a dog from breeders/Kennel Clubs/pet shops
- Benefits of spaying/neutering pets
- Community/Youth awareness about animal welfare for street dogs
All participants shared thought-provoking and inspiring insights along with personal experiences about these topics. We also spoke with the attendees about Project Humane Nepal's work and mission.
SAATH is a social work organization that works together with different individuals, groups and organisations in order to provide necessary support to marginalized communities with major focus on needy children and girls. For more information about SAATH, visit http://saath.org.np/
- Adopting a street dog instead of buying a dog from breeders/Kennel Clubs/pet shops
- Benefits of spaying/neutering pets
- Community/Youth awareness about animal welfare for street dogs
All participants shared thought-provoking and inspiring insights along with personal experiences about these topics. We also spoke with the attendees about Project Humane Nepal's work and mission.
SAATH is a social work organization that works together with different individuals, groups and organisations in order to provide necessary support to marginalized communities with major focus on needy children and girls. For more information about SAATH, visit http://saath.org.np/
Rally Against Animal Cruelty
The rally organized by ‘Love & Care Dogs’ against acid attack on street dogs at Nardevi was an opportunity for us to voice our opinion against animal cruelty and to raise awareness in the community about animal abuse and to take action. Thank you to all of those who came out to rally to support the cause despite the rain. Special thanks to everyone who helped us make the rain-proof placards, they came out great. Way to go guys!