Trying To Keep Up

A priority of the IFAW/CARE team since initiating our rescue program on the ground in Jakarta has been to be able to reach as many communities as possible. Therefore, in order to be as effective as possible, there is a daily routine that we follow: area assessment, meet with village leaders, introduction to pet owners, approximate count of wild animals, feeding, clinic set-up, preparation, intake, patient care, and education. All that in just a day.

The north Jakarta neighborhood we visited on our third day in the field is one of many areas that is tightly situated between tall bank buildings and busy highways (from above I’m sure Jakarta traffic looks like a long and wide ant trail barely moving) and are closed off by shoulder high cement walls.

In this particular neighborhood a church steeple towered over the rows of tin roofs. But it’s not an obvious steeple; the roof sweeps from one large triangle at one end to another large triangle at the other end (..if that makes any sense!). And the inside of each triangle is painted with traditional images. The entire roof itself is probably as large as a good size yacht. Anyhow, it was gorgeous, a bit out of place, but gorgeous.

Like every other morning we set up the relief tent, owners show up with animals sometimes even before we are ready to receive them. The challenge here has been trying to hold and cradle cats for several minutes before there’s an area to put them. It becomes quite a show, especially when our audience of about 20 community members take turns trying to hold and calm the animals.

The attached photo was of "Lucky", an easy going cat allowing us to continue clinic preparation. The last things we would want to do is turn away a pet owner who has never thought of bring their animal in for treatment before. We accepted all with open arms and big “thank you - s”!

Comments

[agung]

good work guys !!!