Karachi is one of the most densely populated cities in Pakistan with over 16 million people spread across the land, and yet we hardly see the right amount of care and concern given to animals, particularly street animals, who are not only ignored but often intentionally brutalized. There is a saying by the Dalai Lama, “if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them” which can directly be applied to the constant injustice animals in the city face on a regular basis.
However, in honor of World Environment Day, Founder and CEO of ACF Animal Rescue, Ayesha Chundrigar once again stepped up to challenge these notions by launching the ‘Karachi Cares’ initiative. The campaign kick-started the Karachi leg on World Environment Day and features several programs including weekly Medical Camps at Empress Market, weekly Donkey Camps, Bi-weekly TNVR drives, monthly online discussions on how to promote empathy in Pakistan, roll out programs to foster empathy in kids, and a volunteer program across Pakistan. These are just a few of many outreach programs which are being conducted by Chundrigar around the city. To create a better society for animals and humans alike, Ayesha Chundrigar hopes to bring positive change to the way we treat the voiceless in our society once and for all.
On the first day of the Empress Market Medical Camp, Ayesha Chudrigar provided flyers to the shopkeepers with animated images of animals and how they should be kept in pet shops, if at all. The message in the flyers was quite basic and yet came as a surprise to many. It showed the most fundamental necessities that animals require such as the right amount of food, water, and shade. Some of the shopkeepers wouldn’t even provide medical care for the animals. “This market is only open today because we all give it business. In front of me, about 5 people came by to dump their pet Persians and small dogs because they were bored or had bred their cats for kittens to sell to Empress Market just to get a cut off them once sold,” stated Ayesha Chundrigar. She went on to state, “I am sharing a problem that is as old as time in Pakistan and I’m trying to strip it at the roots. This isn’t about animals. This is about our intolerant and violent mindset that seeps into every crack of society but has been ignored, by which, we suffer so many other ill fates that plague humans in society today.”
Now Ayesha Chundrigar is encouraging all Karachi-ites to raise their voice and participate in a cause that needs urgent attention. “Killing animals violently and allowing animals to suffer or be locked up to live a miserable life is NOT the answer. They deserve as much freedom as we have. They deserve to live a life true to their nature and their environment. Let’s go Karachi! Let’s show how much we care and set an example to expand this campaign across the country!” voiced Ayesha Chundrigar urging us all to get up and do something for the sake of animals and our society which are in dire need of our help.
