Support the work of an Animal Welfare Organization

The project

The Meru Animal Welfare Organization (MAWO) works in the Meru region of Tanzania to protect animals from cruelty by promoting, improving, and developing matters concerning the welfare and understanding of animals in Tanzania. They are fighting for a different perception of animals within their culture and society. They also work to promote the five freedoms of animals: 1. Freedom from hunger and thirst, 2. Freedom from discomfort, 3. Freedom from pain, injury and disease, 4. Freedom from fear and distress, 5. Freedom to express normal behaviour.

Their mission is to protect all animals from torture, abuse, cruelty, diseases and killing. Their vision is for animals to be respected as living creatures who experience pain, fear and suffering. Their aim is to promote, improve, and develop of any matter concerning the protection of animals and understanding of animals among the people of Meru District, Tanzania.

In 2009, MAWO Founder and President, Johnson Lyimo, and other community leaders were brought together to discuss their shared concern for the horrific animal treatment they were seeing in their communities. By 2010 they had completed a baseline survey to study the greatest needs for animal welfare in the Meru region. MAWO was created to address these problems to better the lives of both animals and humans in the area. Since then, MAWO has played a significant role as a champion for animal welfare throughout the Meru District and Tanzania. “Animal welfare” to them means: the concern for the well-being of an animal’s physical and mental state and involves the mitigation of avoidable suffering, injury, pain, fear or distress resulting from unnatural behaviour while used for work, sport, companionship, research, or food. The ethical basis for MAWO’s policies stems from looking beyond the conservation of species to the welfare of individual animals.

Your work

Working hours will be discussed individually. Your work is diverse and depends on your interests and knowledge, but you will definitely get the chance to be creative and do important work!
You are asked to advise the MAWO Team on how to improve the day to day activities of animal welfare for good performance of the organization. You will help to design different programs for animal welfare. You will seek internal and external donors and apply for grants. You will write and giving reports to the donors on the progress of MAWO. You will design fundraising activities and put them into practice. You will design and write MAWO newsletters, brochures etc. You will perform field activities i.e. Dog & Donkey Clinics, and you will find and invite new members (internal and external) to join MAWO from different areas i.e. tour operation organizations, hotels, big farm operations etc. Finally, you will provide education in schools i.e. primary and secondary, communities and also conduct clubs.

If you have a background in any of the required fields like animal care, marketing, fundraising, etc. that would be very good! But even if not, you are welcome to support MAWO. The important thing is to be compassionate, dedicated, and enthusiastic.

Note

You can support MAWO even if you can only stay for two weeks, but since you will have responsibilities and maybe conduct your own projects and activities, you should consider to stay longer. The best effect for you and MAWO will be guaranteed when you support them for three to six months.

Your day depends on if you have a day in the office or if you are on an outreach.
Your working hours will be discussed individually, based on your interest, skills and the demand of the organization.
If you have an office day you start in the morning and work as discussed with your supervisor in the field of fundraising, marketing or any of the above mentioned fields.
If on an outreach your work differs from day to day. If you are going far out of Arusha it can even happen that you have to sleep in the villages where you work. At dog and donkey clinics you will teach local people about animal welfare, go to school and educate children and communities and much more!

You can start working at this project any day of the week that suits you.
On your first day we will do a town tour showing you Arusha, how to use the buses, where to find ATMs and exchange money and much more.
The next day one of our staff members will take you to your project showing you the way and making sure you are always safe.

We offer a wide range of activities at affordable volunteer rates like:
1. Hiking/Walking tours to waterfalls, through forests and around a lake.
2. Swimming in paradise like hot springs with a blimps of the Mount Kilimanjaro.
3. Cultural tours to Maasai markets and the possibility to visit different ethnicities.
4. Coffee plantation tour to learn about the process from the bean to the finished product.
5. Safaris to the national parks of the Northern Circuit (Arusha NP, Lake Manyara NP, Tarangire NP, Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Conservation Area). 6. Climbing Mount Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro.
7. FREE town tour for all our volunteers!