FEEDING THE SOUL

Hello, my name is Tara, I am from Spain, and I am currently living in Ajman, UAE.

My target is to raise enough funds for the stray cats/dogs in my neighbourhood and eventually spread to other areas in the country.

I previously lived in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, carrying on the same project which is, basically to save animal´s lives.

As many of you know, the situation in the Middle East with regards to street animals is not regulated and many of them live in inhumane and horrible conditions. Trying to help them is my goal but this duty sometimes can be very overwhelming and frustrating at the same time, since I am on my own and I cannot afford all the expenses for food, spaying, transportation, shelter, medication or vet costs.

I believe social responsability includes everyone. Animals situation is one of the problems that we need to solve as a society and never be left for one or two people to deal with it.

It is not new for anyone living in the UAE that the situation the stray animals are experiencing is outrageous. The more people are involved, the easier it becomes for everyone and responsabilities as a community should be shared.

I also belive that people should learn how to integrate animals into their lives, not seeing them as a pest but as SOULS who have the same right to live as you or me, with equal needs and equal rights to be well and never to be neglected or abused.

Social awarness is crucial for this society. People need to get educated in order to develop important values as empathy and respect towards all kind of animals, only like this will get a better community for the future generations.

What impact will my project have in the region?

Well...when we talk about impact, we are not only talking about the animals care but also about sustainability and good enviroment, to which, it will also affect for good in the future, as having a controlled community of stray animals being well taken care of, means more and cleaner streets, where you will not find garbage on the floor or dead bodies of animals which can cause an increment of pests and spreading diseases even among the people.

Less stray animals means less hungry mouths desesperatly searching for food in the trash containers as well as less animals crossing roads causing car accidents and being killed and in the worst case, being left injured and agonizing until they die.

Animals are really suffering here and neutering is the only solution to end the uncontrolled and fast growing issue of the cats and dogs in Middle East.

Unfortunatly there is not help from the goverment or public insitutions where you can take this poor creatures to get them spayed for free nor any kind of support from vets or significant discounts for treatments.

Prices in UAE are extremely high and specially vet cost can reach from 1200 AED for spaying a cat to 1800 AED for a dog.

A female cat can become pregnant as young as 16 weeks of age and go on to have two or three litters a year, therefore, the feral cat population, and the problems associated with it, grows and perpetuates.

In seven years, a single female cat and their kittens can produce 420.000 more cats.

It is obvious that spaying is the only solution here. Neutering female cats is the only option that guarantees to have a society with controlled stray animals and at the same time, end with the animal suffering, including diseases, injures, starvation to death, heat strokes, fights and death.

It will obviously be beneficial for both, people and animals and if we start implementing this measure everyuwhere in UAE as soon as possible, we will be able to start seeing the results in few months.

It is important to mention that UAE is one of the hottest contries in the world, making summer unbearable for those who dont have a home. Shelters with acclimatized areas are a must for survival as many of the animals die due to the heat.

I just exposed shortly several of the issues animals are experiencing here, however I am just asking you for help in order to at least provide them with the most basic cares which is food and water.

I want to believe there is a lot of good people over the world willing to give a hand. Any little help counts!

Thank you so meawch!