The SAWC’s K9 unit is one of the most innovative and successful applied learning projects in Africa. Its anti-poaching successes on the ground have increased exponentially in recent years largely due to the four-tiered approach adopted to test best practice. This includes rangers, dogs, aerial support and community engagement.
In supporting rangers on the ground, the on-leash and off-leash scent and detection hounds are adept at working in rugged and challenging conditions, tracking at much faster speeds than humans can. Breeding and training ensure that they give 110% every single time. It’s our job to make sure that they’re kept in prime physical condition, and that we can take care of all their routine and emergency health care needs.
That’s why this festive season, we’re making them the focus of our fundraising efforts. Medical aid for all 30 of our dogs, for one year, costs R144 000! This means that for just R400 a month, over 12 months, you could help protect a working dog for an entire year. By giving the hounds this gift, you’re supporting the most effective asset we have in counter-poaching operations, directly helping to save rhinos and other vulnerable wildlife.
We are using the popular crowd funding platform GivenGain to raise the R144 000 needed and we need fundraisers to assist with helping spread the message!
It will take you less than 5 minutes to set up your free fundraiser page on GivenGain, by simply following these four steps:
Step 1
Sign up as a fundraiser on GivenGain.
Step 2
Search for the Southern African Wildlife College charity page and choose the K9 Christmas Gift campaign as your charity project.
Step 3
Create your project page for the K9 Christmas Gift campaign – we have made this easy for you with a specially designed Fundraiser Toolkit to help you muster up their support to protect our working dogs! Simply load the images and copy and paste the wording supplied, or feel free to make it your own.
Step 4 – Share it with the world!
Share your project with friends, family, colleagues, dog lovers, fellow conservationists – anyone who loves our natural world and wants to help conserve it!
We have also added some suggested social media posts to the toolkit with images to use to help you promote the campaign.
Be sure to use our hashtags –#SAWCk9unit #K9ChristmasGift #ProtectaDogSaveaRhino
This has been a challenging year for everyone, and conservation efforts have come under increasing pressure as the world grapples with the Covid-19 Pandemic. The support of our partners and donors have been invaluable over this time and we are truly grateful to you. In terms of K9-unit support a big shout out must go to the Ivan Carter Wildlife Conservation Alliance, Tusk Trust, International Rhino Foundation for their core support, and to Pack Leader Pet Products who ensure that our dogs are well nourished. We look forward to working with all of our valued supporters on this campaign and to continuing our relationship in 2021.
