Jiven is a Hindi word that means life. As you already know, we set part of our profit aside to support projects that we believe in. Our mission is to support projects that enable people and animals alike to have a good life, by helping them out of difficult situations. This time, we visited the Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care center in New Delhi, to see how we can help.
About Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care-centrum
The Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Center (SGACC) is India's oldest and Asia’s largest all-animal shelter. It was founded in 1980 from a legacy bequeathed by the late Mrs. Ruth Cowell of New South Wales, Australia to Sanjay Gandhi. Sanjay Gandhi was the son of late Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Under the patronage of his wife Maneka Gandhi, this center has flourished into a well-staffed, well-equipped, veterinary center.
The hospital-cum-shelter acts as a 24x7 facility that rescues, houses, treats and rehabilitates animals. The center is home to over 3000 animals at any given point. It assures enough space in a secure environment for all kinds of animals and birds that need help. During our visit, we saw camels, buffalos, horses, cows, goats, monkeys, dogs, cats, eagles, pigeons, rabbits, bats, pigs among more. People from all over Delhi bring in injured animals who need urgent help. For example, monkeys who get electrocuted by walking on live wires, street dogs who get run over by cars, birds like eagles and pigeons who have injured their wings, etc.
About our visit
On arrival, we were greeted by Ms. Aavritee, who studied to become a lawyer, and now loves to run this center. We introduced ourselves to her, and directly there was a conversation about veganism as we told her we give plant-based Indian cooking workshops. Ms. Aavritee said that’s a very important point to start with, before helping an animal care center, as veganism is the single most important choice we all can make to affect the lives of animals in a positive way. Soon she gave us a tour of the whole shelter, starting with the horse right behind us, who had an injured leg. In India, many weddings are incomplete without horses, on whose back the groom frequently arrives. These horses are often not cared for in a good way, which leads to terrible circumstances like infections, as this beautiful horse had. The owner decided to let go of this one as it was no longer of its use due to its injured leg. However, there are millions of such horses in need all over India.
Next, we went into the buffalo wing, where we saw some really healthy buffaloes. Aavritee told us that most of them arrived there in really bad circumstances, where one could even see their ribcages. It’s known that in India, the cow is a sacred animal, and is protected by laws. However, with buffaloes, that’s not the case. This means that they are abused for milk, leather hides, and manual labor, in terrible conditions. They are not given enough nutrition which makes them prone to malnutrition and several diseases. At the Sanjay Gandhi center though, they are taken care of properly, without exploiting them for milk, or any other benefit.
Next, we saw the camels, who have a similar story to the horses. They are used for human entertainment, carrying humans and their belongings all day. In India, for as little as 20 cents, you can abuse a camel by riding its back. These camels were lucky to be rescued, and find a place at this shelter.
Further, Aavritee took us into the cow shelter, where we almost had tears in our eyes. We saw cows without legs, with swollen mammary glands filled with pus and bacteria. We couldn’t imagine that millions of cows around the world live in such conditions, and still continue to be exploited for milk and meat, and humans continue to drink milk by turning a blind eye to the consequences. We were however happy with some reunions stories, where some cows were reunited with their calves, and continue to live in the shelter without worrying about someone taking their calf away. Although you could sense and see the trauma in their eyes, there was also a ray of hope to be seen if you looked closely at some.
Next, Aavritee wanted to take us to the dog shelters. We had some treats for the dogs, which we took out of our car before heading towards the shelter. Aavritee told us about the 24x7 free animal ambulance service and helpline the center has. We went to the OPD/ emergency, where more than 200 animals are treated on a daily basis. Moreover, they were busy constructing a bigger animal hospital next to the current one. The OPD had mainly dogs, which were run over, or were targets of animal cruelty. There was one very sweet dog who we greeted, who recently got beaten up by a police officer, as he suspected that it had rabies. The police officer has been suspended from his position though, and the dog has almost fully recovered and is ready to be back on the streets again. Also, Aavritee told us that the center organizes adoption events on a regular basis, and already helped thousands of dogs find a loving home.
In the end, we visited the monkeys, who were being treated for their injuries. Once treated, they will be released back in the wild by the forest department. This place also housed the birds, bats, and rabbits who needed help.
Donation
Both Daniëlle and I had a great feeling about the work being done at this place, and throughout the 1-hour tour, we saw things where our help could be used. We were both happy that so many animals in need of urgent care, could call this place their home. We decided to use our Jiven project pot, to make a donation of 10,000 rupees (120 euros) During the tour Aavritee mentioned a lot of urgent expenses that need to be met, for example medicines to treat emergency cases, food, and general care for the animals. We entrust her with making good use of our donation, and she even promised to inform us where and how our money will be used.
Overall, we drove away back home happy, satisfied, and proud about doing our bit to support such a noble cause this Animal Care center is involved in. If you want to know more about the center, visit their website. You can donate any amount you’re comfortable with directly on their website, or through us, by reading more about the Jiven project, and donating directly, or indirectly by following our cooking workshops, or by buying our upcoming plant-based Indian cookbook.