By Berio Mbala
WINDHOEK
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) received a welcome boost in the form of two pick-ups valued at N$100 000 from a local bank.
Bank Windhoek donated the two bakkies worth N$50 000 apiece.
The SPCA is trying to prevent the inhumane treatment of animals, particularly dogs and cats.
The donation comes after the SPCA published an appeal to the public in February and March of this year for financial help in support of their daily activities.
The Senior Manager, Marketing and Corporation Communication Service, Marlize Horn, said: ” Today, here at the premises of the SPCA, we announce that in response to the public appeal made by the SPCA, Bank Windhoek is donating to the SPCA two used Nissan bakkies valued at approximately N$100 000.”
These vehicles will support the SPCA in their daily operational activities, and this donation once again proves Bank Windhoek’s commitment to the SPCA, said Ms Horn.
She said Bank Windhoek has supported the SPCA in the past and continues to recognize the crucial role the SPCA plays in caring for animals that have been neglected or lost.
“We at Bank Windhoek hope that these two bakkies will make the SPCA’s job a whole lot easier,” she added.
She said the SPCA was a non-profit organization that depends on financial assistance from corporate entities and kind-hearted citizens.
“A non-profit organization like the SPCA,” she said, “will always face the challenge of raising enough funds to support their daily operations. Bank Windhoek,” she added, “was pleased to assist the SPCA by donating the bakkies to assist with their transportation needs.”
She said this means that the SPCA can now use the N$50 000 they had raised to purchase a vehicle for other much-needed services.
She also stated that the SPCA generates its own funds through legacies and donations, and if preventing cruelty to animals is to remain part of Namibia’s culture, the Society relies on the support of the business community and the Namibian public.
Horn said the SPCA undertakes educational programmes throughout the year and supplies the materials and equipment required for these activities, and lack of funds will therefore limit the work, with disastrous effects.
She said Bank Windhoek will continue to support the SPCA to enable it to continue with their good work to the community, she said.
Micheline Huster of the SPCA thanked Bank Windhoek for responding to their appeal, saying that the money originally raised to purchase a vehicle would be used for other purposes. The bank’s donation will now enable them to travel to other regions and assist where other animals are being abused and neglected every day and are in need of help.
She said the SPCA in Windhoek has been rescuing and sheltering animals since the 1950s. The Society has full-time and part-time staff, as well as numerous volunteers and fund-raisers who provide a haven for thousands of animals and endangered species.
She said that without aid, these animals would be in the streets, reproducing, starving and dying.
Huster requested the public at large to make every endeavour to arrange with the SPCA for their animals to be cared for when they go on holiday. She said that during the last December holidays nearly 190 animals were simply let loose and were looked after by the SPCA.