Animal Care
Photo Credit: Supplied

Animal care might not be a traditional part of most curriculums, but it certainly should be. Bridging this gap are the Mdzananda Animal Clinic who have been very busy working with schools to educate over 700 children on caring for animals and becoming more compassionate citizens!

 

Cape Town, South Africa (01 August 2024) — Educating our youth to become future civic heroes requires knowledge that goes beyond maths tests and language quizzes. While much of the education system in South Africa might be overwhelmed and under-resourced at the best of times, there are dime-a-dozen organisations stepping in to fill important educational gaps! One of these hero organisations is the Mdzananda Animal Clinic who continue to give the youth in Khayelitsha the 101 on one of humanity’s important classes— animal care.

The Mdzananda Animal Clinic shares that it is making major strides in animal care education thanks to collaborative efforts with several community schools. Thanks to this team up, animal care lessons have been integrated into life skills classes for 2023 and 2024 with the aim of continuing the classes on a yearly basis.

The team share that in 2024 alone, 780 children have already benefited from these educational sessions. Topics covered include animal health, care, behaviour, feeding, exercise and compassion.

In late July, the latest animal care session saw 152 learners at Vuselela Primary School enjoy its teachings. In more good news for the kids, each learner received a goodie bag containing a Hero in My Hood educational activity book, a badge and crayons.

While these lessons are centred around animals, they also speak to many other realms of development.

“At Mdzananda we believe that caring for animals teaches qualities such as respect for life, compassion, companionship, and responsibility—attributes that not only help children care for animals but also contribute to their development into well-rounded adults,” explains Marcelle du Plessis, Fundraising and Communications Executive.

Echoing these sentiments, Programmes Manager Carolyn Dudgeon adds, “How a community cares for their pets speaks volumes on how a community functions.”

“A kinder, more compassionate community approach towards animals helps create a kinder, more compassionate community towards each other. We are fortunate to be a part of this process.”

While the visit to Vuselela marks the last school collaboration for the year, Mdzananda is happy to share that it will be extending its educational outreach to more groups of people, including book clubs and other NPOs grassroots organisations!

Love this initiative and want to get involved? Mdzananda invites all those who wish to sponsor an educational goodie bag to make a donation (R55 per bag).

Banking Details

  • Mdzananda Animal Clinic
  • Standard Bank
  • Account number: 075595710
  • Branch Code: 025009
  • Saving Account
  • Reference: Education + Your Name

Sources: Supplied—Mdzananda Animal Clinic 
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About the Author

Ashleigh Nefdt is a writer for Good Things Guy.

Ashleigh's favourite stories have always seen the hidden hero (without the cape) come to the rescue. As a journalist, her labour of love is finding those everyday heroes and spotlighting their spark - especially those empowering women, social upliftment movers, sustainability shakers and creatives with hearts of gold. When she's not working on a story, she's dedicated to her canvas or appreciating Mother Nature.

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