We sent an email to K’s Path asking them about their experience and accomplishments in K’s Path and would like to thank them very much for replying to us:
How was K’s Path Founded?
K’S PATH was founded by Ayeshah Al Humaidhi in March 2005. It started as an animal shelter for homeless dogs in the beginning and then expanded to cats and other pet animals. And as the awareness and the work grew so did the organization. We developed programs to match the situations that arose. When people surrendered or rescued farm animals we started the Farm Animal Sanctuary and the Wild Animal Sanctuary for the baboons and finally the Migratory Bird program to rehabilitate wild birds. Education was always part of the organization but in 2011, when we started the Marine Conservation Program to protect wildlife habitats in Kuwait, we were able to expand and push our Education program further with the aim to start changing the next generation’s view of the environment and the animals we share this earth with.
In 2014, after 9 years of work, K’S PATH finally got registered as a society with the Ministry of Social Affairs in Kuwait, making it the first society in the Gulf to be focused on animal protection.
Why was it decided that K’s Path has to be shut down?
In the past 12 years, we have seen a lot of changes in the community. When we started nobody wanted to admit we have animals needing homes – now everyone speaks about the issue and addresses it.
Running an organization like K’S PATH is very expensive – it costs us 10,000 KD per month to keep all the animals we care for happy and healthy. Unfortunately, fundraising is very difficult for a cause focused on animals and sponsorship is difficult as well.
Also, we see that our main objectives of making a change in the community have been fulfilled. There are many rescue groups and organizations that have started to care for animals in Kuwait and we are very proud to see that. The Environment Public Authority has been very active in protecting and putting regulations and laws to protect the environment. So we see great things changing in Kuwait and feel like there is no longer a huge need for an organization like K’S PATH to continue.
How did you get your first ever bunch of animals?
After Ayeshah Al Humaidhi came back from her studies in the USA, she kept finding dogs in the streets and started rescuing. At first, she kept them in her home but soon there were too many and she decided she needed to start a proper shelter.
Within the past 12 years, what has K’s Path accomplished?
We have had many accomplishments and successes. We were recognized by the Ministry of Youth and the United Nations as an organization that serves Kuwait.
How do you feel about the role of volunteers in K’s Path?
Volunteers play a very important role in our organization. We were a very small team of 12 people who cared for 300 animals at any one time. So for us help our animals in the best way, we need the help of volunteers to socialize them and play with them. Animals are emotional and when they are abandoned or surrendered they feel the pain, so we needed the help of volunteers to give them the love so that these animals can learn how to interact with humans again and be adopted faster.
How have you accomplished the adoption of such an amazing number of animals in these few months?
It was wonderful to see the support of everyone in Kuwait. From people adopting to organizations like the Cat Cafe Gatwa w Gahwa who have done a great job at hosting our cat adoption days and helping us adopt out all our cats. We also had great support from PetZone and Promenade Mall to hold dog adoption days which helped us adopt out our dogs.
Ayda Scheller our shelter manager is a huge star! She contacted everyone around the world to see how we can relocate our animals. She found people who adopted our horses and donkeys in Kuwait. She found a sanctuary in Wales, the United Kingdom who will be receiving our 7 baboons. And she is working with Save a Soul Kuwait a group who have a network of homes in the USA who are looking for dogs to adopt, and since all our dogs are fully vaccinated, microchipped and neutered it is easy for them to travel and also we make sure they are all behaviorally tested to ensure that they are all safe as pets. Many of our dogs found homes in Kuwait and our remaining 16 dogs will be going to the USA.
For more info, please visit http://kspath.org/en/
