Charity Mews: SPANA | For the working animals of the world – cat themed christmas shop

Hi everyone,

Today we would like to introduce you to SPANA. They are a charity that helps those animals less fortunate than our kitties that have a safe home. We first met people of their charity on a holiday in Egypt where they treat the farm and other work animals of the local residents that can’t afford to pay for a vet.

So when they contacted us and asked if we could tell you all about their cat themed gifts that you may like and their sale will help those animals we couldn’t say no! 🙂

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Oliver and Nubia immediately wanted to investigate their cat christmas calendar!

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This time without the cats 😉 This one is available for 4£ by clicking here.

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Or maybe a bang-free super deluxe christmas cracker? This one you can get for 11£ by clicking here.

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These cat coasters come in a set of four and are available for 8£ by clicking here.

Mice Pies ©Peter Cross

Mice pies greeting card anyone? Pack of 10 for 4£ here! 😀

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Or a cat hiding in snow as greeting card also 4£ for a pack of 10 by clicking here.

Of course they have many more cat and other animal themed presents so head over to their front page by clicking here. The profits of the sale of these cute gifts go straight to the care of helping working animals in need. 🙂

More about SPANA from their website:

SPANA was founded in 1923 by Kate Hosali and her daughter Nina, after they witnessed the suffering of animals on their travels through north Africa.

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We realised that behind that façade of picturesque beauty there existed a vast sea of neglected animal suffering. How many tourists had glimpsed this hidden world and like us done nothing about it?
Nina Hosali, SPANA founder

They planned to set up a service that offered practical help and acknowledged the extreme poverty of animal owners, and their lack of medicines and education.

Kate returned to Africa to treat as many animals as she could, while Nina set up SPANA in London.

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A determination to help

In a time when a woman travelling alone was frowned upon, Kate worked tirelessly and selflessly. Through hardwork and determination, she won the respect and friendship of the local people.

Kate recalls in a letter in 1925:

“Early on my first morning I went to the market place and treated a donkey’s sore and said the magic word ‘Batel’ (free).

“Before I had finished two more were at my elbow and before I had done those I was in a crowd of Arabs and donkeys. From that moment I never raised my eyes from donkey’s backs. The crowd came and came. I counted up to forty then lost count. There were always six more waiting to be treated.”

“Next day, exactly the same thing happened and I expect this will continue until they all get cured.”

Kate criss-crossed Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, visiting 58 towns and news about her spread. They even started to call her the Toubiba (“Lady Doctor”).

The demand for SPANA grows:

Demand for SPANA’s free veterinary care grew rapidly and centres were established across North and West Africa. Kate devoted 21 years of her life to saving animals, before she passed away in 1944, aged 67.

After WWII – a new beginning:

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Nina took on the task of rebuilding SPANA’s services after the Second World War and extended the humane education side of SPANA’s work. She believed that, by ensuring school children understood basic principles of animal welfare, they would be less likely to treat their animals badly in the future.

Like her mother, Nina dedicated the rest of her life to SPANA. After 42 years of selfless devotion she passed away in 1987, aged 89. This dedication led to Nina being awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 1976.

Kate and Nina’s amazing compassion remains at the heart of SPANA’s work to this day.

Thank you very much for reading we hope you liked hearing about them! 🙂

Thanks,

Marc

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7 thoughts on “Charity Mews: SPANA | For the working animals of the world – cat themed christmas shop

  1. rike jokanan says:

    Marc, thank you for (again and again) the story of animal rescues/caring.

    Many voiceless animals are out there needing our love and care and I always feel pain in my heart n soul of not being able to directly help them. But knowing that somebody still has the heart like Kate and Nina (and other rescuers) my pain becomes less intense.

    I’ll browse the items and see if I can grab some….

    ?

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