Jessie Crawley: August 2016

I had always had an interest in animals, their welfare and helping those in need but it was my time at the Soi Dog Foundation in Thailand that really got the ball rolling and helped me to realise that I wanted my life to revolve around spreading a compassionate message and truly doing good. It was my time here that inspired me to start up equALL - our platform to fund raise and raise awareness for important worldwide issues, it was also when I decided to stop turning a blind eye and give up meat, eventually leading to me avoiding all animal derived products by going vegan.

https://www.soidog.org/

The animals I met at the Soi Dog Foundation will always have a place in my heart and the volunteers and those who dedicate their life to the cause, my full respect. If you read my blogs while I was volunteering, you would already know that the dogs they help are saved from often horrific circumstances including abuse at the hands of humans, neglected pets, struggles from street life, car accidents and of course caught up in Asia's awful dog meat trade. I met Lou Southgate while in Thailand. As well as being equally passionate about animal welfare, Lou now works at Soi Dog and also travelled around Thailand helping at various shelters and sanctuaries. She became an great friend and somebody that I have stayed in close contact with.

While in Chaing Mai, Lou came across a rescue centre run by a small group of local Thai people called Santisook. Caring for almost 400 dogs, the organisation also educate the community and sterilise and vaccinate - which is so important in a country where there is a high level of animal neglect. However, Santisook are low on funds. Relying on donations Lou contacted me and we discussed how working together we could come up with an idea to help them out. She noticed during her visit that the shelter have a big problem with ticks, fleas and skin problems - the thai climate provides the best breeding ground for these. Simple medical care isn't enough, can be costly and hard to get hold of.

Lou & Name Daeng - hit by a car and paralysed from the hips down. He has been cared for at Santisook for 3 years.

What is the solution to all of this? Regular baths! Bathed regularly with medical shampoos will help these dogs from future problems. It is a simple but highly effective idea. Lou worked out that installing 3 bathing stations at Santisook will cost £200 (9,000 THB), cost to install at £45 (2,000 TBH) and specialist shampoos at £45 (2,000 TBH). For £290 we can help revive all the dogs at the Santisook shelter from irritation at an estimated cost of 82p per dog. Going forward this would be a huge step for Santisook and will help them continue to care for the animals in such desperate need.

Regular washes at Soi Dog

There is a fundraising page for the baths set up by Lou HERE - "Give a dog a bath"

Please keep an eye on our social media for news of the dog walks and how the fundraiser is getting on. We have already reached the target to pay for the installation and specialist shampoos! Please share the gofundme link too and kindly donate if you can. THANK YOU

UPDATE! On the 10/09/16 equall held a 'Dogs Day' in aid of Lou & her mission to help Santisook. A family friendly day of facepainting, goodie bags, obstacle courses, food & drink, meeting local owners & dog photoshoots helped raise £141.33 to install the bathing stations. Lou's total was reached and the work is planned to begin. Thanks to Rob Phillips for our photos!

A couple of months ago, my friend introduced me to a organisation called Maiti Nepal. Founded by Anuradha Koirala in 1993 along with teachers, journalists and social workers, Maiti Nepal was "born out of crusade to protect Nepali girls & women from crimes such as domestic violence, trafficking for flesh trade, child prostitution, child labour and various forms of abuse, exploitation and torture".

You can find out their history and further detail of what they do by checking out their website www.maitinepal.org. I have been amazed learning about the depth of their work. These people save women and children from horrific circumstances and give them a new life including education and job opportunities - but most importantly a HOME. They empower these individuals to have a value of self worth regardless of what they have been put through and encourage them to hold a positive outlook for their future.

More than 15000 women and children are trafficked from Nepal each year, some as young as 7 years old. 150000 - 300000 Nepalese girls age 7-24 are currently estimated to be in brothels in India forced to serve up to 50 men a day. Maiti Nepal raids brothels to rescue victims and identify traffickers.

They also work to shut down these barbaric trades too, to date Maiti Nepal have 357 rape cases prosecuted, 1200 traffickers convicted and have intercepted 30000 women and girls from potential risk of trafficking with their education and community outreach programmes.

As well as 38 national and international awards, in 2010, Anuradha was declared a CNN Hero as a result of her compassion and fight against human trafficking. She is a truly inspiring individual who I have loved learning more about. Her words have touched the heart of many and the title of this blog post is taken from something I heard her say in the film 'The day my God died'. I urge you to watch it, although emotional.

equALL is teaming up with club night Aberboomtique on the 12th of Aug'16 in Aberdeen for a joint fundraising and awareness night for Maiti Nepal. With the mighty Aberboomtique atmosphere and music we will also have local stall owners including fair trade clothing, face painting, raffle with amazing prizes, party games and guaranteed glitter.