Visit to the SPCA
The children we work with do not have much, but what they do have is time. I wanted to get them into a position where they could do something for others, instead of just receiving.
The idea was that they clean the kennels and wash the dogs at the local SPCA, but due to their ages, the SPCA did not want to take the risk. They did however propose that they would like to do an educational program with the kids.
After a discussion with “Koningskinders”, I was astounded that most of these children have two or more pets at home. I asked them during the program how many, and which type of pets they have. Most had dogs, but some had cats and even snakes as well! Some of these children had four or more pets. This was mind boggling considering the financial circumstances the families were in.
We spent Saturday morning at the SPCA, where they showed them the animals and the kennels where the dogs and cats are kept. They did an educational program and afterwards we provided some snacks. We decided to provide each child with an item of food, to give to the SPCA. We would like to thank Jeanette Erasmus from the Pit-bull Federation of South Africa who arranged the contact with Complete Pet Foods.
Complete Pet Foods donated 18 x 8kg bags of food, one bag for each child which they gave to the SPCA. The children were reluctant to get in the kombi’s after our visit, as they thoroughly enjoyed the outing and it was clearly too short for their liking. We hope that they understand the responsibility of having a pet and that they know now what it is to give to someone or something.
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