Team effort for animals in need

GRAAFF- REINET|ABERDEEN NEWS - Cawse (Camdeboo Animal Welfare Shelter and Education) held their first official meeting in Graaff-Reinet last Monday.

Representatives who attended from the Graaff-Reinet SPCA and CSI (Camdeboo Sterilisation Initiative) as well as the local municipality pledged their support and emphasised that they will all be working together for the benefit of all animals in need and the community.

Nicola Woods gave a brief outline of Cawse's goals and plans for this year, including their outreach, education and sterilisation projects.

During the question and answer time, the main points which arose, were in regards to the reasons for starting a private welfare, instead of joining the SPCA or CSI.

Nicola explained the NSPCA policies and physical challenges facing the SPCA and said that after much investigation, they came to the realisation - as have many other welfares in South Africa - that the best way to resolve this matter was to start a private organisation.

"We are hoping our SPCA will remain open long enough to allow us to assist them. With the number of animals needing assistance in Graaff-Reinet, even with three organisations running at once, we will still be overwhelmed and need each other's support as much as we need that of the communities."

Only 2% of the funding for CSI is from within Graaff-Reinet and the GRT SPCA has been struggling to maintain its support for years.

"We are positive that a new organisation will increase the funding for our animals, instead of depleting the resources of our other existing welfares and charities."

Please donate one or more bottles of wine - white, red, rosé or sparkling, before 12 February at one of the following drop-off points: De Camdeboo Wijnkamer at the Drostdy Hotel, Hello You, Our Yard, Pick n Pay Liquor Graaff-Reinet, Profcon Resort, Tops at Spar Spandau.

Land

Cawses' first goal for 2022 is to raise the R500 000 needed to purchase the plot of land between the industrial area and Kroonvalle, which is ideally suited for easy access for everyone. The Land Puzzle Piece project has been launched and they appeal to everyone to please sponsor a square meter of land for R200 (see their banking details below).

Volunteers

Nicola also stressed the importance and need for volunteers. "The more volunteers we have, the more animals we can help. Everyone has their own unique set of skills and talents, and we need yours.

"Once our facilities are up and running, we will need people who are willing to walk dogs and play with kittens. In the meantime we need people to help raise money through volunteering to help with fundraisers, be it people skills, design skills, physical strength, creativity or just to help with simple hands-on chores.

"We are also planning to start our outreach program as soon as we have adequate funding. This requires teams of volunteers to work alongside trained, qualified staff, to go into areas where help is needed to dip dogs, apply tick and flea treatments, gather basic owner/dog information, set up workstations and treatment points, as well as to inform and educate owners in regards to basic pet health care, animal handling and the need for pet sterilisation."

Anyone who would like to get involved in either of these projects, please contact Cawse.

Aberdeen

Nicola also met with members of the Cawse team in Aberdeen. "We are extremely grateful for the land and a building that has generously been offered to us to set up a facility in Aberdeen. Our Aberdeen Outreach program will be up and running within a matter of weeks.

She said the situation with feral cats in Aberdeen is dire and they have already begun to work on this.

"If you would like to donate financially, specifically for these projects please use ABERDEEN as your reference when making a deposit."

Valentine's wines

To raise funds this Valentine's Day, Cawse will be holding a Secret Valentine Wine Day.

These wines will then be wrapped so that the winery and year becomes a secret. The colour and dryness will be noted on a tag. On 14 February people will be invited to donate R80 per bottle of wine. You can select the colour and dryness; the rest will be up to your luck. Please keep an eye on Facebook, Instagram, local noticeboards and the drop-off points for more details regarding this.