The Jivdaya Charitable Trust (JCT), headquartered at Ahmedabad in the Indian state of Gujarat, is a not for profit, non-governmental organisation which provides free medical care to unowned domestic animals and also runs a rehabilitation centre for wild birds and small mammals. Their main objective is to help animals which are in pain and are suffering and to nurture them back to a happy and healthy life. It is located at the very heart of the city.
Animal lovers from across the city bring pets and stray animals which need care and safety. The facility receives a wide variety of birds and animals at its rehabilitation centre. They also have a mobile treatment van in which they treat animals which do not require hospitalisation and can be treated on the spot.
Jivdaya doctors have been awarded 1st and 2nd place in the National Surgery Conference.[1] This facility has also been approved by the Forest Department to treat scheduled animals and birds.[1]
History
The Jivdaya Charitable Trust was started as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in 2007,[2] by Giraben Shah with her father Hasmukh Patel, two trustees, and four employees[3],and its first facility was set up in 2008. It is set up to provide medical care to stray domestic animals, and runs a rehabilitation centre for wild birds and small mammals and helps suffering animals trying to nurture them back to a healthy and happy life.[3] It began in 2007 in a field full of grass, snakes, and one big room, and a van, driver, and animal catchers and later a ‘Save the Birds’ campaign was launched, and an avian operation theatre was built where injured birds flocked in,doves with bleeding injuries, crows and sparrows with cut wings and slowly some volunteers and other help started pouring in.[3] Later slowly the organisation bought an X-Ray machine,air purifier,and auto clave followed by three Kennels and cages.[3] It is registered under the Bombay Charity Act with registration No. E.18173/Ahmedabad and is also recognised by the Animal Welfare Board of India with recognition code No. GJ-249/2010.[4] It has an 80 G- Tax Exemption Certificate and also has a Foreign Currency Registration Account so that people living abroad can donate to them.[1] It was started by Ms. Gira Shah as a result of suffering she saw among the animals when they were not given proper care and love.[5] She saw that the stray animals, who could not speak up for themselves, were not being treated properly and there was no one to help them when they fell ill or were injured. The vision of JCT is to "Create Public Awareness", especially among the new generation so that they become conscious of their responsibilities towards the animals. Their mission is to "Provide BEST and FREE medical treatment to all animals", "Provide Shelter to the ill and injured animals" and to "Promote Vegetarianism".[6] In 2020 the volunteers of the organisation were involved in feeding stray dogs in Ahmedabad since the lockdown was imposed due to COVID-19.[7] The volunteers carried porridge, bread, milk and paneer,and visited areas of eateries and officies and though they were closed due to lockdown many stray dogs made these places as their areas of habitat due to easy availability of left overs from these places.[7] Initially the volunteers of the organisation started with feeding 350 to 400 roadside dogs each day but were also joined by animal lovers later and these volunteers also started feeding other animals like cows and camels.
In 2017,the organisation planned to make street dogs in Ahmedabad rabies free and organised an rabies free drive and vaccinated the dogs with anti-rabies vaccines,and planned a public awareness on rabies prevention.[8] An estimated 200 volunteers and 50 members of JCT had participated in the drive which was organized in various areas of the city including Bopal, Motera, Naranpura, Nehrunagar, Relief Road and Nava Vadaj, among others and around six vehicles had been arranged which carried food for the stray dogs, with the help of volunteers.[8]
Functions, campaigns and aid provided
Save The Bird Campaign
Jivdaya started this campaign because it encountered uncountable fatalities of birds during the Uttarayan festival. According to Ms Gira, many people start flying kites early in the morning and this is also the time when the birds fly out in the search of food. This leads to a number of fatalities. Ms Gira believes that if people fly kites during later hours, fatalities would be reduced.[5]
In order to cope up with such a large number of fatalities during the Uttarayan festival, Jivdaya launched a special helpline number and also calls for people to volunteer during this festival. People who volunteer are called before the festival starts and are given proper training to rescue injured birds and other animals.[5] Each area has its own helpline number and therefore, as soon as Jivdaya receives a call on any of these numbers, it alerts the volunteer group in that area. The volunteer group goes onto the place of incident along with proper first aid, baskets, towels and soaps. The first thing that they do there is provide first aid to the animal(s) and then bring the bird/animal to the centre for further treatment.[5]
Jivdaya had attended to more than 2,390 birds in Ahmedabad, which is the heartland of the kite flying festival, during 2017 and approximately 490 of them had died.[9] Sherwin Everett, a volunteer with the JCT, said that casualties of the kite-flying season started trickling in from November. The reason being that many people had started flying kites as soon as November ended. She also said that among the species which were rescued in recent years were various endangered and migratory birds.[9]
Another volunteer, Shastri pointed out the danger to vultures (which are already endangered because of the veterinary drug diclofenac) because of kite flying.[9] She further added that "The eggs of the white-rumped vultures hatch in January and the birds scout for food for fledglings at least three times a day. Injured birds leave fledglings starving, further impacting their numbers."[10]
In January 2019, JCT recorded 100 bird fatalities even before Uttarayan started.[11] It had treated around 945 birds which they received during 14 and 15 January 2019.[12] There were around 300 volunteers who treated these birds.[12]
Also, Jivdaya invites a force of 50 doctors every year during the festival of Uttarayan, from across India and other countries, and at least 30 birds are treated at the clinics. Between 14 and 15 January, the volunteers of Jivdaya Charitable Trust had reportedly treated close to 945 injured birds, including endangered species like rump vultures, cranes and barn owls.[13]
The biggest issue faced by Jivdaya during this campaign is the issue of funding. It has to spend around 8 to 9 lakhs (₹800,000 to 900,0000 or US$12,000) on this campaign every year. This money is spent on housing for visiting doctors, medical equipment and medicine.[5] This takes up the majority of their grants.
During an interview with The Times of India, Ms. Kalpan Shah, trustee at JCT, said that "Wing and leg injuries are most common among birds. However, some are so serious that they need amputation.In fact, many a time when people light firecrackers, the birds tend to faint due to severe trauma and fall and get injured."[11]
Feather implants
Birds whose feathers get damaged or clipped because of a number of reasons, including but not limited to coated manja (thread) during Uttarayan, are now getting a new lease of life thanks to JCT. In 2018, JCT carried out feather implants on four birds and in 2019, it is planning to carry out 2000 feather implants. This is the first of its kind initiative in Gujarat, India, where JCT is conducting free of cost feather implantation.
Gira Shah, the managing trustee at JCT, said that "We were brainstorming on starting feather implantation for three years and finally kick-started it in 2017. We successfully carried out the procedure on four birds. One cannot spot the difference after the feather implantation." She added, "The birds were kept in an aviary for a month and at the end of it they were found to be perfect." She further said, "If even five feathers need to be changed, it will take minimum one hour. The birds are kept under anaesthesia during the procedure. There is better planning and specification to execute. There is tail implant too."[14]
Blood donation by dogs
One of the most interesting things that happen in JCT is that whenever a dog is need of blood, another dog with the same blood group donates the blood. A dog donated blood to another once and the team of doctors sat beside them over the weekend to make sure the healing process was complete. JCT was the first NGO to bring up and successfully implement this technique in Ahmedabad. It came up with this idea when a dog was brought to JCT who had met with an accident and had lost a lot of blood. The doctors decided to do blood transfusion and it was a success. Proper care was taken of both the dogs, the recipient as well as the donor, after the surgery/treatment took place.[15]
The Amdavadis (name given to people of Ahmedabad) now know that there is someone to share the responsibility of curing stray dogs and hurt birds.[15]
Aid to the speechless
Jivdaya provides proper aid to the animals that are in need. It does not differentiate between them based on their breed or disease, and hence treat every animal equally. Majority of the cases which are brought to JCT are of breeds which are Indian or stray. This is because many doctors in private animal hospitals hesitate and are unwilling to provide aid to the stray breed, and many don't even bother to admit these Indian breeds into their hospitals. While most of the private doctors and hospitals work for fixed hours and don't bother what eventually happens to the animal, Jivdaya works for the animals and though it has fixed opening hours, the closing hours are not fixed. This is because if there is a case/treatment pending at Jivdaya, then it does not matter whether the doctors close at 6 pm or provide treatment to the animal until 11 at night. The primary aim is the safety and health of these animals and not monetary benefit. The trust also provides hygienic and proper meals as well as water and milk to the animals so that they stay healthy. The animals at JCT develop a strong bond of love and friendship with their caretakers because JCT believes that animals recover faster if they are treated with love and care while they recover.
Van and helpline
Jivdaya, in association with the Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI), came up with the animal ambulance and helpline number in Ahmedabad. "An initiative that will bring relief to thousands of animal lovers in the city." Ms Gira Shah, founder of JCT, said that "For animals, follow-up treatment is the most important aspect. While we do have lot of vans that handle nearly 60 field cases on a daily basis, many times we do have to deny people our visit due to lack of resources. This initiative by EMRI will help in the long run as it will save a lot of volunteers who help us in getting emergencies reach hospitals or our clinic. We get around 40 cases of OPD (Outpatient Department) everyday."[16] People can dial 1962 if they want to call Jivdaya Trust (or link their line to any other nearby trust) whenever they see an injured animal.[16]
Awards and internship programs
Jivdaya provides various internship programs to students from UK and US every year.[1] The students come to the hospital to get training. It also has specialised doctors from India and abroad come to its hospital all round the year to help in the treatment of animals and also to take various workshop and sessions with the existing faculty and staff members present at Jivdaya.[1] Jivdaya Charitable Trust has been mentioned in newspapers such as The Times of India, as well as in local newspapers such as Ahmedabad Mirror. Several Indian celebrities have also spoken about the work which JCT does to ensure a better health for animals. Jivdaya has also been shortlisted and won many local and state level awards for the work it does. The most precious award won by JCT came in 2016, when it won the One Show Award which was held at The One Show, New York in May 2016.
See also
External links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Milestone | Jivdaya Trust". Retrieved 2019-09-22.
- ↑ "History | Jivdaya Trust". Retrieved 2019-09-09.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "This Ahmedabad Organisation Has Been Helping Stray Animals and Birds for 10 Years". The Better India. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
- ↑ "About Us | Jivdaya Trust". Retrieved 2019-09-09.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "An Interview With Ms. Gira Shah, Founder Member Jivdaya Trust". Youth Ki Awaaz. 2011-02-01. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
- ↑ "Vision & Mission | Jivdaya Trust". Retrieved 2019-09-09.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Tackling hunger of humans' best friends | Ahmedabad News - Times of India". The Times of India. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "jivdaya: Jivdaya to begin drive for a rabies-free Ahmedabad | Ahmedabad News - Times of India". The Times of India. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 ANI (2017-01-15). "Uttarayan: Concerns over bird fatalities during kite festival". India.com. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
- ↑ "Uttarayan: Concerns over bird fatalities during kite festival"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Jan 13, TNN | Updated; 2019; Ist, 6:15. "Gujarat: Cut thread threat to save birds | Ahmedabad News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
{{cite web}}:|first=has generic name (help);|last2=has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ 12.0 12.1 Jan 16, Ahmedabad Mirror | Updated; 2019; Ist, 06:16. "Amdavadis show karuna, save 4,506 birds". Ahmedabad Mirror. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
{{cite web}}:|first=has generic name (help);|last2=has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ "Amazing! Here's How Thousands From Ahmedabad Came Together To Rescue 4506 Birds". The Better India. 2019-01-16. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
- ↑ Bhatt, Megha BhattMegha; Jan 8, Ahmedabad Mirror | Updated; 2019; Ist, 06:16. "NGO offers hope for broken feathers". Ahmedabad Mirror. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
{{cite web}}:|first2=has generic name (help);|last3=has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ 15.0 15.1 "This Ahmedabad Organisation Has Been Helping Stray Animals and Birds for 10 Years". The Better India. 2017-05-12. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Bhatia, Tanushree (2017-10-04). "Soon, dial 1962 for animal ambulance". DNA India. Retrieved 2019-10-05.