Youngsters are finding a new way to earn good karma and also help animals in need. So, many are working with animal shelters, kennels and NGOs, which are seeing more young volunteers especially during summer breaks. And many say that it is not just for the love of animals, but also the need to help those in need and of course, some TLC. So, volunteering is not just for fun, but also a personal milestone.
Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and chairman of Wildlife SOS, a non-profit charity working towards animal rescue and rehabilitation affirms, “Yes, we do see a lot of youngsters, who come to us during summer breaks. Presently, we have 10 volunteers working with us. When any volunteer contacts us through our website, we meet them and ask them questions like, if they are scared of animals, blood or spiders? There is an orientation programme for them and they can choose from various segments like actual rescues, learning how to take care of baby animals and understanding reptiles. They are allowed to set a percentage of time they want to allocate to each segment and at the end take away an experience certificate and a reference letter.”
Twenty-one-year-old Amrita Jha has already spent a month-and-a-half at Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre at Raja Garden and at a pet adoption centre run by People For Animals (PFA) at Select CityWalk. She says, “Adoption gives me a high. I have been taking care of dogs in my vicinity and after I lost the pup, which we adopted in our colony, I was left feeling dejected. An email response from Maneka Gandhi, prompted me to join and work for animals. I will be leaving for Bengaluru in July for further studies, and have already coordinated with PFA based in Bengaluru for volunteer work.”
For library student Deepika Sharma, summer breaks are ideal to spend more time with four-legged creatures. “These breaks give me a lot more time and freedom from household chores to concentrate on rescuing pups and helping them get a home. I pick up orphaned puppies from roads and take them to the nearest animal care centre and help with their adoption process.”
Irani Mukharjee of Circle of Animal Lovers (Regd.) shares that they have volunteers, who come and spend time with dogs at their Neb Sarai space. “We don’t impose any time restriction, it is upto the volunteer when she can spend time with the animals. They help taking dogs for a medical check-up, or take them out for walks. Mostly, college students volunteer with us,” she says.
Ankur Bhardwaj, a volunteer with Circle of Animal Lovers, says, “I come every weekend here and love to spend time with dogs. I take them for walks, and now I am also familiar with quite a few medicines.”
T.S. Tanwar of BCL Secure Premises Pvt Ltd. is enthralled by the idea of having youngsters volunteer. “We do need certain young people, who can be trained as handlers, we can also train them. The idea to invite volunteers surely rings a bell and I would certainly like to take it forward,” she says. Animal lover Prachi Chopra, 21, has been volunteering since she was just six years old. “My family loves animals and my profession will be also related to animals. If people cannot volunteer everyday, just coming over and playing with dogs makes them so happy. They are hungry for love,” she says.