THE RANA STORY
from a dream to reality...
After living in Libya and Tunisia for 5 years, it was hard to ignore and forget the level of cruelty and neglect witnessed whilst living there. Whilst volunteering at shelters in the UK some awful things had been seen, but the level of abuse towards animals across North Africa was on a whole new scale. There was a distinct lack of people and organisations helping in any way. In an area 8 times the size of the UK, there are just 3 shelters, bursting out of their flimsy fences... so on returning to the UK in 2013, RANA: Rescue Animals of North Africa, was born!
It has not been easy! Dealing with Tunisian logistics whilst being in the UK, becoming familiar with endless (ever changing) import paperwork and having to prioritise who we can save, when there are no foster carers available or availability in the shelters.
As a charity we rely solely on donations and all our volunteers dedicate their time for free, it has been a constant fight to keep afloat and many of our vet bills remain outstanding. We are ALWAYS looking for assistance and volunteers and work tirelessly to try and spread the word about what is happening out there... the endless shooting campaigns, the poisoning, the dog fights, the dumping of newborns in bins, the abuse, the torture, the lack of education around basic animal welfare, the ongoing refusal to sterilise... the list goes on.
RANA does not have it's own shelter and relies solely on people coming forward to volunteer & foster. Foster parents are integral to our whole set up, so as well as changing the life of the animal coming in to foster, another one can be saved from the streets.
We are thankful for our small community of adopters and fosters and always keep in touch with the animal long after it has been adopted. Our RANA Happy Ever Afters Facebook group keeps us motivated through the tough days!
We remain excited about what the future can hold for RANA and are blown away by how far we have come so far. We aspire for a response similar to that in Romania, people 'knowing', means people 'doing', people 'helping', people 'saving'... so please share, like, retweet, tell your friends about the animals in North Africa and come and say Hello at our stalls, follow us on social media, we need your help to make change happen.
Thank you for the support, (we need it!)
Love Michaela & our amazing RANA Team spread out around the world xx
Rescue & Foster Team
Meriam - Tunisia based Animal Rescuer
Meriam lives in Tunis where as well as housing over 100 animals in her home, working a full time job, she then feeds cats and dogs on the street every evening. She never stops, often setting her alarm through the night to feed the latest newborn puppies & kittens. She is a real life superwoman and hundreds of animals owe their lives to her.
Sara - Tunisia based Animal Rescuer
Sara runs the PAT Shelter in Tunis, which houses almost 200 animals. She is never off her phone responding to desperate calls for help. She is in essence the closest thing Tunisia has to an RSPCA. She is totally committed to saving animals and knows every single animal personally.
