The "middle" of the history of PAWScostarica is like the middle of a big fat messy sandwich. There were so many ideas, so many things we tried, some flops (like the absolutely beautiful Cristmas stars that Mercedes Dias, Stuart and I spent hours making, but that made the Society no money), some small successes (a fund-raiser lunch a the Monteverde Friends School), a second spay/neuter clinic (29 animals), some adoptions, stopped one cruelty case, some education on an informal and more formal basis (mini-course an animal welfare at the Monteverde Friends School), etc.
And in the midst of it all, the meeting of a very special person named Roxane (and her husband Scott), who having just met me brief minutes before, very willingly volunteered to (on the spot) transport, house and care for two of our street dogs during the spay/neuter campaign! They also partially financially sponsored other animals. How incredible was that! She has now become one of our strongest supporters even though she lives in the States. Things were going so well... I did not know it was the calm before the storm.
I had taken a trip to the States, and when I came back Andrea was gone! She was in San Jose, in the process of moving there permanently as there were no jobs here for her nor for her husband. It was a period of serious re-organization deep within myself and within the Society. We used to get together to hammer out details about logistics of the spay/neuter clinics, of the problems and issues that came up with idividual aninmals/people, etc. We used to lean on each other for EVERYTHING! Now when I spoke of US, I knew I meant ME, or at least I felt that way. When I said that trainers or vets could come volunteer and stay at one of our houses in Monteverde, I knew I meant at MY house. I began to feel very alone and was beginning to lose faith. I started to disconnect from Andrea, and started to plan the website on my own.
It was a crisis for me. One day I came into the Monteverde Institute's library, where I am now and where I seem to "live" when my son is at school. It must have been the habit of working on The Project that must have brought me here that day (looking up what other animal welfare organizations were doing, what other web sites looked like, what the laws said, etc.), for I felt like giving up. There were so many issues, so much to do, and I felt all alone (although I never really was). I don't even remember how I got into a conversation with this super nice young woman named Kamila Rakhimova. She said she would try to help. Just like that. Out of the blue! Maybe this was the beginning of my internal re-organization. Somehow it dawn on me that this was actually an opportunity for PAWScostarica to expand (and for Andrea and me to grow as people). There are so many animals in San Jose also suffering. We could do more. So we regrouped. Yes, there are communication barriers and I miss her, but The Project goes on. As a result, she and I both have met other people who have been so helpful and just wonderful to be around (like Angie who helped with the spay/neuter clinic even though she was sleep-deprived and Eileen who housed and cared for one of our animals). Andrea's leaving was definately BAD TASTING medicine, but here we are, stronger and more determined than ever!
Next time I will tell you more specifics of where we are now, for this is where you come in. There are so many things to accomplish... I am so sure we can make this project an effective tool for changing our world.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
PAWScostarica - The History
THE BEGINNING
They say love can move mountains, and it must be true, for I never in my life intended to write a blog... but my love for animals is so great, that I am being moved to do what I must do in order to make this project fly. If you are reading this you must know me and/or you must be interested in The Project (the animal welfare project here in Costa Rica). My goal is to connect with you, to let you know our progress, to get ideas, to give ideas if you are starting your own organization.
It really all started way before I got to Costa Rica. It started with the co-founder of PAWScostarica (Promotion of Animal Wellbeing Society), Andrea Mendez who, for many years before I arrived in Monteverde, had taken on the task of what is a community problem into her own hands. If a dog got run over, if someone dumped puppies, if a dog was starving or suffering, Andrea would get the call. This community is actually full of people who are doing amazing things for others, for conservation, education, etc. And many of these people have helped animals as well. But when as a newcomer I asked whom I should contact regarding the street animals, all hands pointed in Andrea's direction. So here I am, curious about this woman. Did she have unlimited time and resources to do this work?
I found Andrea working at La Pension Santa Elena, a safe haven for many dogs and cats. She was busy dealing with several tourists at one time, she looked up and smiled: "You must be Veronica", she uttered and motioned me to wait. I watched her. She was young, pretty, energetic, smart. Across the street was our meeting place, Chunches, the bookstore and only place in town where you can buy paper supplies, have lunch, use internet, and do laundry all in one! I learned she had a small baby, had no family around, was working part-time and her husband was in the United States. Her love for animals was tremendous. She COULD move mountains! I knew then, we had a partnership.
I went back to the States determined to come back. She said she could no longer do this alone.
My 5 year old son and I came back in August of 2008. By September there was our the first spay and neuter clinic (although there had been others in years past). We tried forming a Society or Foundation but the first took ten members' signatures and no matter how hard we tried, we could not come up with ten people to sign at the same time, the Foundation required a member from the government to be part, and we did not really know anyone in that position. Another animal welfare organization in Costa Rica recommended we form a Society (only required two people!), perfect! Andrea and I signed in November. We named it Sociedad para el Fomento del Bienestar Animal (we would have liked another name but some were taken already). In any case, the translation is great because my friend Jen Hiebert came up with the very catchy PAWScostarica acronym!
Later I will write about THE MIDDLE (and on a third blog I will tell you where we are now (building a website- here is where we could use your opinion).
They say love can move mountains, and it must be true, for I never in my life intended to write a blog... but my love for animals is so great, that I am being moved to do what I must do in order to make this project fly. If you are reading this you must know me and/or you must be interested in The Project (the animal welfare project here in Costa Rica). My goal is to connect with you, to let you know our progress, to get ideas, to give ideas if you are starting your own organization.
It really all started way before I got to Costa Rica. It started with the co-founder of PAWScostarica (Promotion of Animal Wellbeing Society), Andrea Mendez who, for many years before I arrived in Monteverde, had taken on the task of what is a community problem into her own hands. If a dog got run over, if someone dumped puppies, if a dog was starving or suffering, Andrea would get the call. This community is actually full of people who are doing amazing things for others, for conservation, education, etc. And many of these people have helped animals as well. But when as a newcomer I asked whom I should contact regarding the street animals, all hands pointed in Andrea's direction. So here I am, curious about this woman. Did she have unlimited time and resources to do this work?
I found Andrea working at La Pension Santa Elena, a safe haven for many dogs and cats. She was busy dealing with several tourists at one time, she looked up and smiled: "You must be Veronica", she uttered and motioned me to wait. I watched her. She was young, pretty, energetic, smart. Across the street was our meeting place, Chunches, the bookstore and only place in town where you can buy paper supplies, have lunch, use internet, and do laundry all in one! I learned she had a small baby, had no family around, was working part-time and her husband was in the United States. Her love for animals was tremendous. She COULD move mountains! I knew then, we had a partnership.
I went back to the States determined to come back. She said she could no longer do this alone.
My 5 year old son and I came back in August of 2008. By September there was our the first spay and neuter clinic (although there had been others in years past). We tried forming a Society or Foundation but the first took ten members' signatures and no matter how hard we tried, we could not come up with ten people to sign at the same time, the Foundation required a member from the government to be part, and we did not really know anyone in that position. Another animal welfare organization in Costa Rica recommended we form a Society (only required two people!), perfect! Andrea and I signed in November. We named it Sociedad para el Fomento del Bienestar Animal (we would have liked another name but some were taken already). In any case, the translation is great because my friend Jen Hiebert came up with the very catchy PAWScostarica acronym!
Later I will write about THE MIDDLE (and on a third blog I will tell you where we are now (building a website- here is where we could use your opinion).
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