Hello, my name is Abdi from the USA, but currently living in Somalia. I take care of abused stray dogs. People in Somalia in general are not fond of dogs and that’s just the culture over here. And so you will see hungry and sick dogs everywhere and dogs in need of help. Everyday thousands of dogs roam the streets of Somalia hungry. Most of them are malnourished and weak because of unavailability of food for them. They feed on the street side garbage and live at the mercy of people living around them. I have been feeding the dogs for the past two years, however, due to Covid-19 situation, my job contract has ended and therefore I am unable to continue the feeding without help. With your generous donations, I hope to buy a small plot of land and build an animal shelter and take care of these animals. My hope is not only to feed them, but to provide them safe place for them to stay. I also want to vaccinate, spay and neuter them to reduce the overpopulation of strays. I hope to provide the same love and care to the lovely stray dogs in the coming future. In Somalia, people who look after the dogs are abused and mistreated. This is because in Somali culture, dogs are seen unclean and impure. I have been attacked so many times simply for feeding dogs. Some people tell me, “well, there are poor people everywhere hungry, why don’t you feed them instead of feeding the dogs??” I say I will help both as much as I can, equally. And if they don’t want help the dogs, why can’t they just leave me alone? Despite the risks and the harassment involved in it, I never give up on these poor animals. I never get tired of doing this job. In fact, they give me hope as the love for them kindles in my heart. I love taking care of them. In Somalia, they have annual culling of stray dogs. They poison the dogs by giving them poisoned food and then they collect all of them in a truck and take them outside of the city and burn their corpses. This is very cruel and it makes me very bitter and angry. I cannot stop crying when I see poor animals being abused in such horrible manner. This is very inhumane way to deal with animals and it is brutal and unjust. I want to create shelter for these animals. Since living in the U.S for many years, I know how well dogs are treated there. And I want the dogs to be treated like the good way they are treated in the Western countries, where dogs are respected and adored and taken well care of. I want the same respect and good treatment for the dogs in Somalia as well. I want to educate people about animal abuse. I hope to create communities with healthy animals that are loved and wanted and their population growth controlled. A country that is truly a paradise for all Gods’ creatures. A place where we are not embarrassed to be judged on the way we treat the smallest and most vulnerable beings among us. I am doing this one dog at a time, and for however long it takes. Please, help me achieve this goal by helping anyway you can. Thank you in advance.