The Stray Project : A Thought Of Humanity

The Problem

As per the last livestock census in 2012, India had over 17.3 Million stray dogs. This number is projected to have jumped to ~30 Million by 2020. In Mumbai alone, the number of street dogs is estimated to be more than 100,000. Most stray dogs and other stray animals face severe hardships like shortage of food, health issues, cruelty, and torture. Their precarious situation has worsened, with the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown.

On the one hand, due to unfounded and illogical fears of contracting COVID-19 from animals, thousands of people have abandoned their pets on the streets. These include animals belonging to exotic breeds that cannot survive the harsh stray-life. On the other hand, roadside eateries, one of the major sources of food for stray animals, were shut down for months across the country. Many eateries in containment areas remain closed even today, worsening the already miserable lives of these poor creatures.

Who needs help?

Many of us animal lovers do not have the time to commit ourselves to the service of strays on our streets. But there is a small community of front-line warriors who have gone beyond their means to help these animal friends. They take time out of their busy schedules to feed, heal, and love these creatures. They spend a significant proportion of their monthly earnings for taking care of street-animals.

Even before lockdown, feeders across the country have struggled to balance their personal time and finances with their service. They have gone well beyond their means to save strays from starvation and death. On an average, a regular feeder spends at least one-third of their monthly income on feeding and treating strays. But with the lockdown, most feeders have either lost their jobs or have witnessed their income reduce drastically. This has severely affected their ability to serve the animals that they love. Their helplessness, coupled with the additional burden of food-shortage, has resulted in a tragic catastrophe for our animal friends on the streets.

What is our solution?

We strongly believe that when people come together to build communities centered on a cause close to their hearts, any problem can be resolved. No matter how severe or enormous that problem is. Our experience in the last few months with the Khaanachahiye campaign is a testimonial to the same. Khaanachahiye started off as an effort by a few good Samaritans to feed a few thousand people a day. But soon, thanks to the power of the community that came together, it transformed into one of the country’s most significant citizen movements during the lockdown. We served more than 4.5 million meals in just four months through the initiative. Khaanachahiye turned out to be a lifeline for underprivileged communities that were worst affected by the lockdown like migrants, daily wage earners, and the homeless. After the success of Khaanachahiye, few of the team members have come together with a new vision – Building a sustainable model for saving our animal friends on the streets. The Stray Project is the manifestation of this vision.

Stray Project is a community consisting of front line warriors, expert veterinarians, techies, artists, and animal lovers like you. We will provide a secure and easy to use platform where you can connect with the front line warriors and help them by donating your time and money.

Your contribution will help us prepare fresh, nutritious meals for our animal friends. These meals will be distributed by feeders on our platform. A typical meal will consist of the following,
1. Chicken – A rich source of protein that also provides meaty flavor and juicy bones for our furry friends to relish. (add weight to show detailing)
2. Rice – A rich and easily digestible source of carbohydrates that will keep their tummies from gurgling until their next meal.
3. Lentils (Dal) – Another plentiful and cheap source of protein that will keep the animals energized through the day.
4. Turmeric (Haldi) – A powerful, but easily digestible antiseptic to strengthen their immunity. It will shield them from ailments like indigestion, tick fever, worms, and lice.

Every feeder on our platform is verified after multiple ground visits and extensive interviews. We collect regular audio-visual content from them in the form of photos, videos, and interviews to make sure that your contribution is used in the best possible way.

Your contribution will also help us support the health of our beautiful strays. While feeding, the front line warriors on our platform ensure that they check each animal for signs of ailments and diseases. They will provide them necessary first- aid and basic medication. In case any animals health is severely compromised, they will be taken to one of our designated veterinarians. The latter will treat them at subsidies rates. We have tied up with various institutions to provide long term benefits for the animals through programs like neutering, shelters, and adoption. We have launched the Stray Project in the city of Mumbai. Subsequently, we will be implementing the project in other major cities that have a significant stray population.

How can you help?

You can contribute monetarily through our platform. You can sponsor a given number of meals through a one-time contribution or sponsor a fixed amount of meals every month. We shall be posting regular updates on our progress and audio-visual content on how your sponsorship are utilized. We will also keep you posted on their daily lives and health status. You can get in touch with us anytime for queries. You can also reach out to volunteer for the Stray project or just to meet and greet our front line warriors and play with the beautiful creatures that you have helped us serve.

Who are we?

We are a bunch of animal lovers like you. We believe in using technology for good. We specialize in creating and nurturing communities that come together for a cause using digital technologies. Our team members have worked on multiple, high-impact social projects in varied domains, the latest one being Khaanachahiye – A citizen initiative that served more than 4.5 million meals to the underprivileged in the last four months of lockdown.

References

1. https://india.mongabay.com/2020/03/slim-pickings-for-strays-and-pets-during-covid-19-lockdown/
2. http://dadf.gov.in/sites/default/filess/Livestock%20%205_0.pdf
3. https://www.asianage.com/metros/mumbai/101017/1-lakh-stray-dogs-roam-mumbai-streets.html