Category: Africa

Our Friends in Africa

by davidgies100, posted in Africa, Colorado Gives Day, conservation, nongovernmental, One Health

As many of you know I have a fond association with the Africa Network for Animal Welfare (ANAW) in Nairobi Kenya. Indeed, over the past fifteen years through the efforts of many, Colorado Gives recognizes the sister organization in Denver as a hub for connecting our lives to the lives of people and animals in Africa. In the spirit of giving where we live, we recognize Kenya with the Colorado connections through local veterinarians and students at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Social work, to name a few.

I am writing to my friends and readers of this blog to implore you again to support ANAW-USA through Colorado Gives Day. The agenda in Africa is ambitious but it is paying off in many ways. For example, ANAW plays a significant role co-hosting the Africa Animal Welfare Conference in association with United Nations Enviromental Programme. You can read more about this and other programs taking place with our friends in Africa. The point is ANAW and its twenty-four employees are making a difference. You help make this possible by supporting specific programs in Kenya and the employment of these people.

Your gift today will support medical services in association with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and other nongovernmental groups to rescue animals. Without donations such as yours the staff at Africa’s ANAW would not be paid for their gallant efforts. The staff makes frequent visits to the bush rescuing and provides medical treatment to a wide range of unguents and other wildlife. This male giraffe was darted in August with a poison arrow in attempt to kill it for bushmeat, an illigal activity in Kenya that ANAW strives to curtail.

Thank you for your gifts in previous years matched by the Colorado Gives campaign. Please consider making a gift again this year before December 1, 2022. 100% of the contribution to Colorado Gives/ANAW-USA is forwarded to ANAW in Nairobi.

Happy Thanksgiving and Holiday Season to you and yours.

Best wishes,

David Gies

co-founder for ANAW-USA and ANAW board member

Thanks for 2019

by davidgies100, posted in Africa, Colorado Gives Day, colorado state university, conservation, nongovernmental, rule of law, Serengeti Watch

Expressing a BIG “thank you” for supporting ANAW in 2019

ANAW continues to evolve, supporting communities to build better health care for animals while at the same time, supporting people living in rural areas. The well-being of animals cannot be accomplished without attending to the needs of the human population. Implementing ANAW’s purpose moves the non-governmental organization towards a One Health problem-solving approach. All systems are linked. ANAW promotes animal welfare through its efforts to protect the environment, support employment opportunities, and connect people to people.

This year has been the best year yet for ANAW in Africa. This has happened thanks to the many gifts of work, wisdom, and wealth from ANAW’s friends. General donations, donations from Colorado Gives campaign, and gifts from the Combined Federal Campaign continue to empower ANAW to do its work.

Some of the highlights include conducting the 9th National Judicial Dialogue Conference. These conferences, organized by ANAW with the collaboration of law enforcement and the judiciary have been convened on an ongoing basis since 2013. It has been an important collaboration with the Kenya Wildlife Protection agency and Wildlife Direct leading to a significant increase in the severity of penalties for individuals convicted of animal crimes. Jos Ngonyo reports that since 2013, crimes against wildlife and the environment have been elevated to economic crimes resulting in higher crimes and penalties.

ANAW is fighting to protect donkeys from theft and slaughter due to the growing demand for ejiao (donkey hide gelatin) and donkey skins in China.

ANAW’s accreditation with the United Nations Environment Programme has been renewed through 2013.

ANAW continues to promote Animal Welfare through its Animal Welfare Clubs in 44 schools in Nairobi and surrounding counties.

ANAW conducted spay/neutered surgeries on 434 companion animals and vaccinated over 11,347 dogs and cats against rabies in 2019. Much of this has been accomplished through veterinary service programs led by and thanks to Dr. Lisa McCarthy of Vet Treks and Julie Kelly from Applewood Veterinary Clinic, both in Colorado.

ANAW presented “A Model for High Volume Sterilization Operations — A Case Study in Machakos County” at the Humane Dog Population Management Conference.

At the Kenya Veterinary Association 2019 Conference, ANAW presented “Implementation of the National Rabies Elimination Strategy in Machakos County-Lessons and Experiences Learned”.

ANAW initiated a bushmeat research project using 2004 baseline data to determine the frequency of current illegal bushmeat harvesting, made possible by an anonymous gift from a Denver philanthropist.

ANAW continues desnaring operations to free trapped animals in wire traps.

Recognized by GlobalGiving.org meeting their due diligence standards.

ANAW is also certified by the Combined Federal Campaign as an America’s Best Charities.

This is only a glimpse of ANAW’s efforts and accomplishments in 2019. Visit www.anaw.org to read in detail the talented efforts and many accomplishments of your “on the ground” partner in Africa.

Happy Holidays and a prosperous New Year.

ANAW and Colorado Gives Day, December 10, 2019

by davidgies100, posted in Africa, Colorado Gives Day, conservation, Uncategorized

ANAW in Kenya continues to make a difference for the country by promoting conservation and habitat protection. Its accomplishments include the creation of humane education programs for 44 of Nairobi’s schools as well as experiential trips for visiting graduate students from the United States, United Kingdom, and China. Significantly ANAW has guided the way for collaboration with other NGOs and the United Nations promoting the adoption of conservation and animal care best practices throughout East Africa.

ANAW-USA is a Colorado based organization with volunteers throughout the U.S. partnering with friends in Kenya. Together, a One Health approach has been adopted to assist African communities to create conservation initiatives, leading to economic development benefitting the sustainability of non-human populations as well as humankind. ANAW works to do both, to be human and to be kind.

Now, during this time of the Colorado Giving Day, wherever you live, please consider making a contribution to ANAW. Your gift, of any amount, will be increased through a $1.5 million Incentive Fund. It will make a difference for people and it will make a difference for animals in Kenya.

Thank you,

David Gies

(Combined Federal Campaign designation)

Esmond Martin

by davidgies100, posted in Africa, conservation, Uncategorized

 

Animal 24-7 reports the known detail of Esmond Martin’s violent death as I posted last week.  Here are the detailed accounts about efforts of the conservation movement in East Africa.  Merritt and Beth Clifton describe and write this long article on the current circumstances surrounding Martin’s death.  Thank you, Clifton’s for the investigation and ongoing information.

An Open Letter to Friends of ANAW

by davidgies100, posted in Africa, conservation

The year 2016 has been a year of celebrations, successes, and milestones.  If you are receiving the ANAW holiday direct mail piece you will be reading about my meeting Jos Ngonyo in 2005 and the friendship between our families that continues to grow.  Indeed, the network of friends is a concentric ripple that extends far beyond just our families and friends, to also include what we now have started  in the name of conservation and animal welfare.

The organization we create is a reciprocal door into the countries we represent, the U.S. to Kenya and Kenya to the U.S.  From the perspective of the University of Denver, this is a gateway opportunity for students of the Graduate School of Social Work to meet Kenyans in their homes and in their lives.  This year, for the three groups of visiting private practice veterinarians, it is service to the communities of pet and livestock owners. For Kenyans, it is an introduction to people in North America, an exchange of ideas, aspirations, and future possibilities. ANAW is our mutual gateway.

For the animals in Kenya, it is advocacy and people communicating and doing for those that cannot speak for themselves.  ANAW stopped the road construction across the Serengeti with significant help from Serengeti Watch, brings attention to the encroachment of another roadway, a railroad, across Nairobi National Park, expands Animal Welfare Clubs into the curriculum of 33 Nairobi schools, facilitates the continued efforts for adding animal welfare to the country’s national curriculum, works with the judiciary and countless others to remove trapping wire while advocating for ending bushmeat consumption.

It has been said that in life we need three things.  “Someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to”.  ANAW, for many of us, has become part of our lives, with the mission, and the people on both sides of the Atlantic striving to make the world a better place for all living creatures.

I wish to take this opportunity to say thank you to the Board of Directors and staff in Denver that makes the transmission of funds to Nairobi possible.  From left to right, Philip Tedeschi, Bob Uttaro, David Gies, Richard Reading, Janet Rumfelt, Kristen Nelson, Professor James Nakansa (ANAW in Nairobi), Richard Male, Maria Galter, and Jos Ngonyo.  Not pictured are Arielle Giddens, Nehemiah Rotich and Keith Gehring.

anaw-50-pano

If you are interested in more of the particulars please visit the ANAW websites, http://www.anaw.org and http://www.anaw-usa.org.

ANAW is not eligible to be reviewed by Charity Navigators because our assets are less than $1,000,000.  Until we can reach this threshold, and in the interest of staking our reputation as a reputable and worthy nonprofit organization, our 2015 Audit is available upon request, for anyone wishing to learn more about us.  Also, our 990 tax returns can be accessed at www.guidestar.org.

Best wishes for this holiday season.

David Gies,

ANAW-USA Board President

cgday-log

Rurpell’s Eagle and White-backed vultures

by davidgies100, posted in Africa, conservation

Thursday, with Munir Viranti and Darcy Ogada, of the director of the East Africa Peregrine Fund office, and Richard Reading, consultant and Africa Network for Animal Welfare-USA board member, I visited a location near Nanyuki where several White-backed vultures and one Rurpell’s eagle had been poisoned, probably unintentionally in an attempt by the local people there to retaliate.  It seems lions had killed one or two cows so baited meat was distributed throughout the area.  The unintended consequence was the poisoning of these birds.  Regrettably human-animal conflicts are common throughout Africa as pastoralists compete for grazing location.

Poachers intentionally kill vultures to avoid detection after slaughtering elephants.  It is a terrible reality that the vultures of Africa are at risk of endangerment and extinction.