: Being one of a kind is what uniqueness is all about. Any place , be it religious, educational , a profit or a non profit sector, is different from the rest. It has its own distinguishing characteristics that makes it worth mentioning. Being an animal lover since ages is what that makes me write about this organization; whose purpose resonates with my inherent ambitions of seeing street animals safe. I would like to draw upon a brief sketch on this non-profit organization, curated and nurtured with the selfless motive— feeding the homeless and speechless beings, whom we humans, often undermine and sideline from our busy lives.
About the organization: ‘Animal Welfare People'(AWP) is a self funded organization situated in the district of Dibrugarh,Assam.Co founded by Mr.Vineet Bagaria and Ms.Anindita Laha , AWP started working from November,2018.As the name suggests, AWP is working selflessly towards the welfare of the speechless i.e. street animals. The organization has left no stone unturned to help the street animals. They rescue injured animals , give proper treatments and nourishments. They also encourages adoption of them.
Initially, on every sunday ,AWP organized food drives . But now due to the ongoing global pandemic of Covid-19 they are feeding animals regularly.Not only food drives, the organization also conducts ‘Collar Drives’ which includes giving reflectory collars to the street dogs so that they are not hit by any fast pacing vehicles. These collars reflect the light of cars and makes possible for the drivers to see them at night, thereby saving them from accidents.
Apart from these, the organization holds various adoption camps.This helps them complete two motives, one—they help the people searching for pets to find one and second — they help the dogs, cats, etc to find a lovely home.This organization, preach the idea of making room for these speechless beings and making them a part of our families.They had also organized a Fur Festival on 2nd October, 2019 where many dogs and cats found a welcoming home.The best part of this festival was the Street Play, which was beautifully enacted by the volunteers describing the emotions of the speechless.Distinguished guests, ardent animals lovers as well as the onlookers passing by, were awestruck, with the brilliant performance as they could actually relate to the message the actors tried conveying.The actors were brilliant, the message was outstanding, their motive was magnificent and that’s what made the play and the festival praiseworthy.
There are people who claim themselves to be dog lovers but they end of loving the dogs of foreign breed only thereby ignoring the local ones. They can be termed as breed lovers instead. Being with the company of dogs has always made me elated. They are a source of happiness and a perfect member to anyone’s family. The reason I wrote about this organization is because they are doing what I want to do in the future. There are very few humans who think about the speechless. It’s because of the existence of such beautiful organizations that brings meaning to the lives of such creatures who deserve importance. No matter what, pets can cheer you up and fill that void of loneliness in your heart and life.
I have been a local breed dog owner since five years and throughout these years, I have come to know about their behavior. Their eyes speak out many things. The way they wag their tails lightens up the entire aura of my home . Not only them , I can proudly say that throughout this lockdown period I am feeding all the street animals of my locality. Seeing any street animal suffering or starving is something I can’t stand .The motive of the organization and the dream of my life are coincidentally same and hence I can relate very well. Coming from a humble middle class background, I cannot spend much money on them but in whatever way possible I try to feed them because at the end it’s your efforts that matters.
The most fascinating thing for an animal lover like me is looking at the success stories of such organizations. AWP has managed to treat hundreds of street dogs,cats ,birds. They managed to do it all at their own cost. Sometimes people may donate but most of the times things are self funded. Such organizations often go unnoticed but their efforts speaks volumes to the locals.What the street creatures go through none of us can imagine.During the times of pandemic like Covid-19, Cyclone Amphan, Cyclone Nisarg etc., these creatures are the ones who suffer the most.Pelting stones, bashing them with sticks, burning them alive etc. are some of the worst things that people do even today to the voiceless.During the drives carried by AWP, they have found many dead bodies of puppies, kittens which were caused due to such brutalities.
Main purpose: AWP is set up for the sole purpose of providing a helping hand to the voiceless. By indulging in such virtuous activities, they have proven to be a group of people who are dedicated to the cause of animal welfare. They believe in five freedoms of animal welfare, they are :Freedom from discomfort, Freedom from pain,injury,disease, Freedom from hunger and thirst, Freedom to express normal behavior and Freedom from fear and distress.They help in creating awareness among the common people to take care of the street pugs. Besides,this they also encourage the adoption of local breeds so that they are safe and are in good hands.
Conclusion: I believe ,that, Animals will understand the pain of you better than fellow humans.But we humans , most of the time, cannot understand the pain of our pets.Such organizations like AWP not only understands their pain but also help them overcome it in the most beautiful manner.The selfless service, efforts, purpose etc is what that makes ANIMAL WELFARE PEOPLE, DIBRUGARH a praise worthy one .
By Prerona Dowerah, Dibrugarh
