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POSTER power will help the island’s leading pet charity to promote its new state-of-the-art home in Askar, thanks to the design skills of talented children.
The Bahrain Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA) will shortly be relocating from its rundown site at Shakoora, near Saar, so set up a competition involving children in Year 6 at St Christopher’s School.
The animal charity’s volunteers have been so impressed by the quality of the 150 entries produced by the 10 and 11-year-olds they will be using a series of posters around the kingdom to ensure the big move does not go unnoticed.
Tejas Oundhakar, the charity’s school liaison officer, said: “What was amazing was that each poster told a story about the BSPCA in its own unique way.
“The children depicted their own ideas of ‘happy animals at the new shelter’, for example, animals riding the bus from Saar to Askar, animals lounging with iPads in the new animal welfare centre, whilst incorporating the logo and basic information from the BSPCA website.
“The power of art for communicating long-lasting messages to the public is monumental; especially ones done by children who use unrestrained imagination. I wanted to harness this student-art-power to drive home the message of our move.”
Tejas worked with Robert Stephenson, the junior school’s community and service coordinator, and head-of-year Janet Ingham and each Year 6 child submitted an entry.
The charity’s executive committee painstakingly sifted through the posters and after six hours shortlisted 15 fine works of art.
The designers were Valentina Bernhardt, Aisha Degia, Elena Alsharif, Sophie Holland, Makhdooma Malik, Liela Al Sugair, Ethan Murray, Haamid Hussein Dungarwalla, Jack Hendy, Hussain Hasan, James Cotterill, Niall Alshafee, Shahzad Farooqi, Talia Sahin and Shivaani Iyer.
Their artistic efforts were presented to BSPCA members via social networking site Facebook. The feedback was so close that the executive committee decided to award all the finalists with a special certificate, a cap and T-shirt … and use all of the posters, either in print or digital media promotions.
The children were said to have been delighted with their gifts but told the organisers their biggest prize was ‘working for the animals’ and ‘spreading the message of animal welfare’ to their family and friends.
Originally scheduled to open in October 2011, completion of the new Animal Welfare Centre was deferred for various reasons, but mostly due to the unrest last year which caused delays in receiving donated materials, the BSPCA says. Recently the charity has been waiting for electricity to be connected.
“Now everything is in place and we’re ready to go!” said delighted Joyce Hughes, BSPCA fund-raising co-ordinator.
Although the final cost has not been announced, GulfWeekly has previously reported that construction alone was BD330,000.
But after 10 years of raising funds to build its headquarters the society is now able to move its operations down to the purpose-built base on land donated by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and D Day is August 6.
Its Shakoora shelter will remain open that date too for adoptions only. No animals can be received there after July 30 as all veterinary and quarantine facilities will have been moved to Askar. Anybody needing to bring an animal to the BSPCA will need to take them to the new location.
Thirty kennels and cat cages have been sponsored in the new facility and there are also dedication plaques to the founders of the society, all executive committee members and those who helped them run the society over the past 32 years, likewise all former managers and the volunteers who have kept the Thrift Shop running throughout.
“And, lastly to those who have donated to the society, whether it be funds or items for the shop – a huge thank you goes out to you all – without your help we would not have arrived at this exciting new phase of the Society’s existence,” added Joyce.
The AWC has been planned so that everything needed to care for the animals is available on site and there is much more space than at the current shelter. The complex has an administration block including a lecture room for visiting students to learn about animal welfare.
The clinic is sited in an adjoining building and has been named after Norma Warbin, a former keen volunteer and resident of Bahrain, who in the 1980s left the society a sizeable bequest in her will. In this block there is a waiting room, examination room, operating theatre, recovery room and a laboratory.
The large car parking area set in front of the centre can house plenty of visitors’ alongside the two BSPCA custom-equipped vehicles provided by YK Almoayyed. Purpose-built accommodation for the staff is located in the corner of the site and has been kitted out with furniture donated by volunteers and well-wishers.
The new facilities for the animals include 65 large dog kennels, 15 at the ‘front of house’ where dogs ready for adoption will be placed. Each one has individual air conditioning, lighting and fibreglass roofing has been used, rather than metal, to reduce temperatures.
The kennel is regarded as ‘way above’ International standards in size with a separate sleeping area and large run with an access door that can be raised to allow the animal to get in and out. There is also an ordinary door for staff access to the sleeping area.
There are a further 30 dedicated quarantine kennels, as every animal that comes into the shelter is required to spend a minimum of two weeks in quarantine. This area has its own drainage system to ensure there is no cross-contamination with the animals that have been passed fit and healthy.
l Would you like to sponsor a plaque on a dog kennel or a cat cage in memory of a pet or just because you love animals? You can download the sponsorship form from www.bspca.org. The cost for individuals is BD250 for a lifetime plaque, while for companies the cost is the same but the period of sponsorship is for one year, renewable.
